A Dogecoin mining scam in Turkey may have defrauded investors out of $119 million

• Scams and frauds have long plagued the crypto community. Particularly since people have frequently devised innovative ways to defraud customers of their cryptocurrency holdings
• They also have an online Telegram group where they could talk about the business. Potential investors were instructed to purchase DOGE and send it to Turgut, who said he would use it to purchase mining equipment for Dogecoin
• In fact, a recent investigation indicated that suspicious Internet domain registrations connected to the joke cryptocurrency increased by 744% after January, following a jump in popularity and worth earlier this year

Scams and frauds have long plagued the crypto community. Particularly since people have frequently devised innovative ways to defraud customers of their cryptocurrency holdings. A recent example from Turkey exemplifies this. According to Turkish media sources, a Dogecoin-related scam has allegedly netted the perpetrators $119 million in deposits. The scammer, Turgut V, is currently on the run with all the monies, according to local channel TV100, which broke the storey earlier this week. Turgut allegedly duped over 1,500 Turkish citizens into investing in Dogecoin mining technology with the help of his 11 associates. The fraudsters would personally meet potential investors at luxury networking events and via zoom calls, promising 100 percent returns on their investments in 40 days. 

They also have an online Telegram group where they could talk about the business. Potential investors were instructed to purchase DOGE and send it to Turgut, who said he would use it to purchase mining equipment for Dogecoin. The con artists allegedly paid investors their profits for a period of three months. The criminals, however, chose to flee after collecting DOGE worth close to $119 million, according to officials. The case is being investigated by the Turkish suburb of Kucukcekmece’s Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Over the years, the meme coin has been implicated in a number of frauds, prompting observers to conclude that DOGE is more vulnerable to criminal exploitation. 

In fact, a recent investigation indicated that suspicious Internet domain registrations connected to the joke cryptocurrency increased by 744 percent after January, following a jump in popularity and worth earlier this year. There were also over 205 fake social media accounts mimicking Dogefather Elon Musk, according to the research. These accounts have frequently been used to try to swindle investors online using his identity. A man lost $500,000 earlier this year after donating 10 Bitcoins to a phony Elon Musk profile on Twitter. He had been guaranteed a 100 percent return on his investment by the profile in question. However, this is only one of the countless Twitter frauds that take place every day in the name of well-known advocates. Other cryptocurrency celebrities, such as Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin, have also been targeted.

Andrew Smith

Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages ​​and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.