Bitcoin Scam in Morocco Costs Victims Millions, Authorities Warn

The scammer is a young adept of cryptocurrency and the blockchain environment. From a relatively affluent background, he had the art of convincing and mastered everything related to virtual currency to perfection. According to the daily Al Akhbar, it is in Marrakech and other regions of Morocco that he targeted his victims.

This is how the white-collar scammer spread the rumor that he held a substantial patrimony denominated in Bitcoin and that there was a possibility of selling some to anyone interested. By word of mouth, he quickly made a name for himself in the field. He managed to raise 30 million dirhams before disappearing.

All attempts by his victims to trace his whereabouts have been in vain. They then decided to file a complaint for fraud. Yet this new scam could have been avoided if the victims had taken seriously the recent warnings of the Moroccan authorities about the risks associated with the use of virtual currencies like Bitcoin. According to them, it is a "process that can be used for illicit purposes, in particular money laundering or the financing of criminal activities".