According to new reports from AnChain.AI, an information security and blockchain company, some scammers are offering consumers hand sanitizer, face masks, and some medicines to buy them in exchange for cryptocurrencies and then disappear with users’ money.

According to the the report These scammers managed to steal $2 million in cryptocurrency.

The world is shaken by the spread of the Corona virus, hospitals in Europe are overflowing to the United States, and governments are concerned if their reserves cannot meet the growing demand.

Unfortunately, any human tragedy opens the doors to innovative frauds.

As heightened anxiety makes people increasingly fearful and anxious, malicious, unscrupulous actors look to deceive and take advantage of the status quo.

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INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock commented:

Criminals are taking advantage of the fear and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus to prey on innocent citizens who are only looking to protect their health and the health of their loved ones.

While Stephen Yang, director of marketing at AnChain.AI, pointed out that some scams are facilitated by cryptocurrencies.

He told Yang that his company had tracked millions of dollars in embezzled crypto funds two weeks after conducting an investigation in Asia.

AnChain.AI CEO Victor Fang personally tested the scam first hand by ordering 100 packs of surgical masks as early as February.

But the package hasn’t arrived yet.

Stephen Yang said:

Our CEO actually ordered some face masks from Amazon via mediation.

When the pandemic first began, consumers in Asia sometimes had to pay intermediary sellers in cryptocurrency to order precious, hard-to-obtain medical supplies.

Offers of medical supplies have been published on trusted e-commerce sites such as Amazon, eBay, and social media marketplaces.

Customers are then drawn to the messaging platforms without third party supervision.

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After the payment is made, a fake shipping label is sent to deceive the site and the customer.

Stephen Yang explained:

They launder money through a large number of addresses, or using things like transaction mixers, before passing through to filtering through exchange platforms.

AnChain.AI reports that 90% of fake crypto transactions so far have been via (USDT), 5% in Bitcoin, 2% in Ethereum and a small amount in other cryptocurrencies.

Yang added:

While we are still investigating this process, and the same scam is being monitored around the world, the liquidation itself primarily goes through large exchanges in Asia.

The investigation may expand to include other countries outside Asia.

Since the spread of the coronavirus is still going strong in Europe, it is not expected that scams will decrease either.

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Until lawmen can catch the culprits, Yang gave some general guidelines so that people can protect themselves from being deceived.

He advised not to buy medical supplies from unreliable sources, and most importantly to stay away from making deals via WhatsApp or WeChat.

He also encouraged approaching crypto-reliant sellers with caution.

As he told Jürgen Stock:

Anyone considering buying medical supplies online should take a moment and verify that they are actually dealing with a reputable and legitimate company, or else money will be lost to unscrupulous criminals.

So be careful and buy from trusted sites only.

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