Nicosia, Cyprus. Two men in Cyprus have reported losing a combined total of almost €75,000 in separate online cryptocurrency fraud incidents, police said on Friday. The cases involved a 72-year-old man from Nicosia and a 39-year-old man from Paphos.
Nicosia man reports €48,500 loss
Police said a 72-year-old man from Nicosia reported losing €48,500 after expressing interest in an online advertisement related to cryptocurrency.
According to his report, a person claiming to be from the advertised company contacted him, and the man agreed to download an application onto his computer.
The alleged scammer initially requested €250, which was later returned to the man as profit. After that, the man allowed online bank transfers of €1,000, €7,500 and €40,000 to the alleged scammer, who said the money was for investment purposes.
The man realised it was a scam after a relative discovered that the application was fake.
Paphos man reports loss of about €26,400
In a separate incident, a 39-year-old man from Paphos reported losing approximately €26,400.
Police said the man found a website online related to cryptocurrency and contacted it. A woman claiming to represent the website then persuaded him to invest in cryptocurrencies.
The man transferred €12,448 of his own cryptocurrency to an account indicated by the woman, according to his report.
He later requested that the profits be transferred back to his own account, but unknown individuals allegedly asked him for additional payments to cover purported expenses.
The man reported that he realised he had been scammed when the requests for additional payments continued.