A week after the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) took the extraordinary step of warning customers that a cryptocurrency investment broker was potentially a Ponzi scheme, Singapore has opted to do the exact same thing. On July 31, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) warned through their website that Bitcoin Loophole is potentially a scam, seeking to lure investors to their site, mimicking practices found with other scam operations.
The website found itself in the crosshairs of MAS after it was discovered that they were attributing comments on the site to Emeritus Senior Minister (ESM) Goh Chok Tong’s name. According to the release, they were using fraudulent and misleading information to solicit investments.
ESM Goh is a senior advisor with the MAS, and clearly, his endorsement would carry a lot of weight. However, the ESM did not endorse the site whatsoever. In fact, the MAS stated that even comments attributed to ESM Goh that were legitimate were clearly taken out of context.
The use of these forged comments immediately led to the MAS declaring the site as a likely scam. Included on the MAS website are images of comments attributed to EMS Goh with a big, red “FALSE” statement stamped over the top of the images.
Bitcoin Loophole has been attempting to lure investors to deposit a minimum of $250 on the trading platform. The company states that once a deposit is made, they will instantly begin to make trades on behalf of the investor.
The MAS warned that the public should be cautious about providing any kind of personal or financial information on the website. They also warned that any individual who has found information to be fraudulent or who has found their personal information has been misused in some way should report this to the police immediately.
This warning came days after the MFSA warned citizens in Malta about a likely Ponzi scheme introduced by Emirate Coin Tech (ECT). According to authorities, ECT had made outrageous claims, including promises of 25% returns on investments each and every week.
It is these kinds of claims that will draw the attention of law enforcement officials, especially after several high profile schemes related to cryptocurrencies have been reported recently. This included investors losing millions of dollars in Venezuela from an alleged scam started by Argyle Coin.
This is another warning to those looking to get rich quick schemes in the cryptocurrency market to be leery of large and quick returns from investment sites. Investors are cautioned to do their homework and ensure that the site they are working with is legitimate.
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