A 38-year-old Turkish man, whose name is not given, is accused of buying a car with counterfeit bitcoins. The scam took place in Russia and was discovered by authorities, who quickly arrested the suspect.
According to reports in the Russian media, the criminal case has already been sent to court and the Turk is now awaiting trial. The scam is estimated at 5 million Russian rubles, approximately R$280,000.
Russia is known for being home to several miners and is one of the major countries that has a love-hate relationship with Bitcoin. While it is trying to force its citizens to give up cryptocurrencies, it also sees them as a way out of US sanctions.
Turkish man tries to outsmart Russian by sending fake bitcoins in exchange for car, but fraud is discovered
The case regarding the transaction of a car for counterfeit bitcoins took place in Novorossiisk. This city in Russia is already known for other crimes involving cryptocurrencies. For example, last year a kidnapping with a ransom demand in Bitcoin in the region ended in death.
Regarding the latest case, Russian media reports that a Turkish scammer installed an application on the victim’s mobile phone, claiming it would be a wallet where bitcoins would be sent in exchange for his car.
However, the bitcoins were fake, that is, they had no value. While the information does not clarify how the scheme worked, it could be coins from the Bitcoin Test Network, or a worthless fork.
Another assumption is that the scammer would have access to the private keys of such a wallet, and deduct the amount after successful negotiations.
The car in question was worth 5 million Russian rubles (R280,000) and was handed over to the wife of the Turkish scammer, who, according to information, had no knowledge of the scam. After closing the deal, the scammer took the vehicle to another state.
When the Russian victim realized that his wallet did not contain any bitcoins, he contacted local authorities, who managed to locate and detain the scammer at a border crossing.
The Turk is currently in a pre-trial detention center awaiting trial. In total, he could be jailed for up to ten years for the coup.
Finally, although trading items for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin is simple, it is important to have a minimum of knowledge to do so. Anyway, the above case is quite rare, unlike other scams in the industry.
Source: Live Coins
Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.
