Crypto scammers are targeting thousands of ships stranded near the Strait of Hormuz, and at least one ship that has come under Iranian fire may have been convinced it paid Iran for safe passage.
The first warning about such a cryptocurrency came on April 20 from the Greek maritime risk management company MARISKS. Reuters. The company has warned ship owners that fraudsters posing as Iranian authorities have sent messages to shipping companies demanding they pay “transit fees” in bitcoin or Tether.
This could be particularly confusing for shipping companies because of how Iran has asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz – a vital shipping channel and maritime bottleneck that normally allows the Gulf states to secure a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. Iranian authorities demanded cryptocurrency payments required oil tankers to take a route close to Iran’s coastline in order to pass through the waterway and undergo inspection.
MARISKS identified a vessel as potentially a victim of crypto fraud after attempting to pass through the strait on April 18, though Reuters could not confirm this information. The incident is believed to have taken place during a brief window when Iran claimed to have allowed the ships to pass the inspection, but the vessel in question returned after Iranian military forces opened fire on the vessel. There are still about 2,000 ships and 20,000 sailors near the Bosphorus.
This ship may not be alone in falling for crypto scams while seeking safe passage. On April 22, a cargo ship under the flag of Liberia EpaminondasShots were fired after the vessel, owned by Greece’s Technomar shipping company and operated by global shipping company MSC, was reportedly given permission to pass through the strait, and authorities are investigating “the possibility that the message of safe passage may have been a hoax.” Ekatimerin.
