The campaign titled“Fake Coins: Cryptocurrency Scams” has recently been circulated by the Ministry of the Interior of Uruguay, and was launched in partnership with El Paccto and Cibel@ in a partnership that involves 17 different Latin American and European countries.
Police and prosecutors have joined forces across various LatAm countries (including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay) with the objective of launching a global communication and awareness campaign.
The FakeCoins document provided by the Department of the Interior of Uruguay outlines the reasoning behind the campaign:
“Cryptocurrencies have become popular as a media phenomenon and as a new investment instrument. As such, they are a legal and useful financial tool if you know how to use them. However, as a result of its fame, a series of scams have appeared that, using cryptocurrencies as a hook, confuse investors in order to steal their money.”
“In the same way as FakeNews, cryptocurrency scams have grown in the last few years. With this campaign we are using this concept to identify the schemes used by scammers. The first thing that has to be done to eliminate FakeNews and FakeCoins is to have the tools to detect them. Without a doubt, the best investment begins with our security.”
The campaign was launched in March 2022 by the European Union EL PAcCTO programme and the CibEL@ network in a bid to address the issue of cryptocurrency scams on both sides of the Atlantic.
Claudia Liebers, from the Directorate General INTPA of the European Commission noted: “We need to be ready for challenges such as cyber threats. The campaign that we are presenting today is an example of the European Union’s work to forge firm alliances with our partners in Latin America”.
Sergio Muñoz Yáñez, general director of the Chilean Investigative Police outlined the campaign’s goals, namely: “alerting society to the most common scams involving cryptocurrencies, stopping them from falling victim and, if they have been affected, providing them with channels to file complaints.”
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
