What to know : Shipowners are receiving fraudulent messages from scammers posing as Iranian authorities and demanding bitcoin or USDT payments for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Greek risk management firm Marisks. Marisks said it believes at least one vessel fell victim to the scam and was fired on while attempting to transit the strait, which has been largely blocked by Iran since late February amid a U.S.- and Israel-led war. The scam follows Tehran's proposal to charge official crypto tolls for safe transit. Marisks stressed that the messages it flagged did not come from legitimate Iranian sources.
Shipowners are receiving fraudulent messages asking for crypto payments in exchange for safe passage across the Strait of Hormuz, and at least one may have been taken in, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Marisks, a Greek maritime risk services company, issued a warning saying several shipping companies had received messages from scammers posing as Iranian authorities and asking for bitcoin or USDT. The firm said it believed at least one ship fell victim to the scam and was fired upon while trying to pass through the strait over the weekend, Reuters said.
Shipping traffic through the strait has largely been blocked by Iran since Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel initiated a war on the Middle East country. According to Reuters, there are roughly 20,000 oil tankers and other freighters stranded in the Gulf.
A week ago, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and has since seized one Iranian vessel trying to evade the operation.
On April 9, Tehran, which controls the chokepoint, proposed crypto tolls on vessels in exchange for safe transit. Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, said the crypto fees would likely be charged in bitcoin.
Marisks issued its alert on Monday. Iran has not made any comment, Reuters added.
"These specific messages are a scam," Marisks said, assuring the messages did not come from official Iranian sources.
"After providing the documents and assessing your eligibility by the Iranian Security Services, we will be able to determine the fee to be paid in cryptocurrency (BTC or USDT). Only then will your vessel be able to transit the strait unimpeded at the pre-agreed time," said the fraudulent message cited by Marisks, according to Reuters.
The shipping company did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for comment.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
