The CNMV, the Spanish securities regulator, has issued a warning about the existence of an unknown party asking for information and offering to sell bitcoin on its behalf. The fraudsters are said to perform the scam attempt via phone calls, where they ask for personal information and offer the benefit of purchasing bitcoins said to be confiscated from a company indicted by Spanish courts.
Unknown Party Impersonating Spanish Securities Regulator
The Spanish securities regulator (CNMV) has warned about a series of impersonators that are asking for data in the name of the group. According to the warning issued, an unknown party is using phone calls to contact and require data from Spanish citizens with a fake offer to sell bitcoin. The bitcoin offered is falsely said to have been confiscated from a company indicted by Spanish courts. The callers also explain they are contacting the citizen from a fake anti-fraud department of the organization.
In its warning, the CNMV states that it has already reported this irregularity to the authorities to find the responsible parties and thwart these initiatives. It stated:
“As soon as it became aware of the facts, the CNMV has carried out various actions, including alerting the State Security Forces and Corps.”
The Spanish regulator will pursue legal action against the parties carrying out these scam attempts, according to its president, Rodrigo Buenaventura.
Recommendations to Avoid Getting Scammed
The CMNV also made a series of recommendations and asked the citizens that have been contacted to report these activities to the authorities. The organization asked citizens to be aware of calls made on its behalf, and in case of any suspicious situations or strange requirements, to contact the regulator directly.
Also, the Spanish securities regulator advised users to verify that CNMV emails come from the cnmv.es domain, and ensure the origin of the source, to rule out the existence of strange links unrelated to the institution.
At the same time, the institution clarified that it will never contact any citizen to present an investment opportunity, or to charge the aforementioned citizens for this information. Any such contact must be considered suspicious and should be reported to the authorities, that will then follow up on the report.
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