CNPF warns of cryptocurrency scams promoted on WhatsApp and Telegram
According to the National Financial Market Commission (CNPF), fraudsters create fictitious “investment” groups where apparent activity is generated by bots, and so-called “experts” promise quick profits from transactions, including with cryptocurrencies. Participants are encouraged to recruit new members in exchange for “rewards.” Victims are persuaded to transfer money to fake “trading accounts,” where they are shown fictitious profits to gain their trust. When they try to withdraw funds, they are charged various fictitious fees. CNPF notes that activity in these groups is largely artificially generated by bots (e.g., fake Telegram accounts), and that inviting friends and relatives is one of the ways this scheme is spread. "The profits shown are illusory and are intended to encourage larger investments. These structures are financial pyramids in which the income of the upper echelons of the hierarchy is formed from the contributions of new participants without any real economic activity. This aspect highlights the unsustainability and fraudulent nature of such operations, which inevitably lead to financial losses for most participants," CNPF notes. The Commission also draws attention to the fact that the most vulnerable groups of the population attracted by promises of quick winnings and rewards are teenagers, and therefore calls for an increase in the level of financial education among young people and careful parental control over the actions of teenagers on the Internet. // 18.08.2025 — InfoMarket.
