City currency scam closed

POLICE have shut down a fraudulent cryptocurrency business in the City of London after it was found to be cold calling investors and attempting to sell them fake online money.

Fraudsters allegedly set up the business in London’s square mile as they attempted to persuade victims to invest in a fictional cryptocurrency.

The City of London Police arrested a man on Wednesday on suspicion of helping to set up the scam call centre, or “boiler room”, on Old Broad Street. The man is accused of trying to entice victims to invest in a fictional cryptocurrency, the police said. The nine victims who reported the firm to Action Fraud lost an estimated £160,000 in total.

Mark Forster, at the City of London Police, warned that businesses rarely cold call customers to persuade them to purchase investments. “I urge anyone who is cold called and offered investment opportunities to simply put the phone down,” he said.