Moldovan priest falls victim to $32,000 cryptocurrency scam
Date: 2025-03-26 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
A 69-year-old priest from the Moldovan city of Soroca lost a large sum of money after believing the promises of scammers offering profitable investments in cryptocurrency. According to PulsMedia, the incident occurred between mid-January and the end of February 2025.
The victim transferred more than 575,000 Moldovan lei (equivalent to about $32,033) to the fraudsters, believing that he was investing in a reliable crypto platform. However, shortly after receiving the transfer, the people posing as representatives of the investment project stopped communicating and actually disappeared with the money.
The police of the Republic of Moldova have already launched an investigation to establish the identity of the scammers and clarify all the circumstances of the incident. Law enforcement officials do not rule out that the case may be related to a series of similar crimes recorded in the country in recent months.
The incident involving the priest is not an isolated case of cryptocurrency fraud in Moldova. Thus, on February 26, searches were conducted in various cities of the country as part of a fraud case related to a cryptocurrency exchange. Then the police seized digital media, documents and electronic devices that could be related to illegal activities.
In addition, in January 2025, charges were brought against Valeria Fedyakina, known under the pseudonym Bitmama. She is suspected of participating in a scheme to steal both cryptocurrency assets and fiat funds in the amount of more than 2.2 billion rubles.
And in December 2024, another case of fraud was recorded in Chornomorsk: a local resident lost 43,000 hryvnia while trying to buy bitcoin.
These cases highlight the growing threat of cryptocurrency-related cyber fraud, especially among citizens who lack sufficient risk awareness. Law enforcement agencies are urging citizens to be cautious and not to trust dubious online platforms that promise quick profits.
