Opinion: the launch of Gram and Libra will not significantly affect the growth of fraudulent schemes

Russian experts do not share the point of view of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which expects a surge in fraud after the launch of digital currencies from Telegram and Facebook. Earlier, a similar idea was expressed by the director of the department for counteracting unfair practices of the CBR Valery Lyakh.

He pointed out that young people interested in investment projects could become the most vulnerable to scammers.

“Everything suggests that, probably, in the near future we can expect a certain surge of fraud with the offer of pseudo-cryptocurrencies. If Telegram and Facebook enter the market with their currencies, then most likely scammers will actively offer their pre-cryptocurrencies under the guise of Gram and Libra, ”said Valery Lyakh.

According to the official representative of the Binance bitcoin exchange in Russia, Gleb Kostarev, cryptocurrencies are the same tool for scammers as SMS, phone calls, email or social networks.

“Do not exaggerate the role of cryptocurrencies, fraudsters will always try to use new technologies for their own purposes. It is important that regulators and law enforcement agencies respond promptly to the emergence of new schemes, and users always remember about safety measures, ”he said in a comment to BlockchainJournal.

Attempts to enrich themselves in a fraudulent manner are inherent in economic turnover, says Yuri Brisov, member of the Commission for Legal Support of the Digital Economy of the Moscow branch of the Russian Bar Association.

“In a sense, fraudsters are helping protect systems develop. It’s precisely to combat fraud that cryptocurrencies appeared – a mutual settlement system that does not allow fraud, complicates the possibility of theft or extortion, potentially even containing mechanisms for protection against defaults, inflation, martial law and many other economic and political factors that affect currencies, ” – the expert notes.

Brisov also recalled that a high threshold for entering the initial coin offer from Telegram and Libra cuts off the potential participation of ordinary citizens and fraudsters in particular.

“You can blame Bitcoin for the fraudsters selling its plastic counterpart on the street. And you can evaluate the effectiveness of fraud protection mechanisms that Bitcoin offers. In this regard, both the tokens of the projects under discussion and any known cryptocurrencies protect fraud from fraud much more effectively than fiat currencies, documentary and uncertified securities or any other traditional investment products, ”the expert emphasized.

Recall that in April 2018, Kaspersky Lab researchers discovered dozens of fake web pages offering to purchase Gram tokens ahead of the Telegram Open Network ICO project. In total, scammers stole more than $ 35 thousand.

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