Crypto scammers are exploiting Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz by posing as Iranian authorities and offering stranded ships safe passage in exchange for tether (USDT) and bitcoin (BTC).
According to Reuters, the Greek maritime risk management firm MARISKS has warned shipowners that some ships stranded on the west side of the gulf have received suspicious “clearance” proposals from scammers looking to exploit confusion over the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s crypto toll proposal.
The senders are demanding crypto, and MARISKS warned: “These specific messages are a scam.”
Iranian government officials announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed in early March, and threatened to “set ablaze” any ships trying to cross following the US and Israel’s attacks.
Then, on April 8, Iranian oil exporters’ union spokesman Hamid Hosseini announced that Iran’s authorities would email shipowners and arrange a BTC payment in exchange for passage.
Read more: How bombing Iran shifted oil and bitcoin prices
The statement was confusing to say the least. He claimed that BTC payments would take seconds (they take several minutes), that they would be untraceable (BTC is very traceable), and that they would circumvent sanctions (the US has already sanctioned Iranian BTC wallets).
Strait of Hormuz keeps opening and closing
Additionally, the Strait’s closure, reopening, and now second closure haven’t helped ships looking to leave the region either.
In one instance, two Indian vessels set off on April 18 to cross the Strait, believing they’d been given clearance from Iran. However, Iranian authorities opened fire on the vessels, forcing them to turn around.
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This happened on the same day that the Strait of Hormuz was briefly reopened. Iran quickly closed it again due to the US blockade put in place on April 13.
A number of cruise ships with passengers onboard reportedly managed to flee the Gulf when it briefly reopened, and seemingly came under fire. More recently, the US seized an Iranian container ship on Sunday that attempted to pass its blockade.
Overall, there are reportedly 20,000 ships stranded in the Gulf.
Negotiations and peace talks between the US and Iran were underway last week and managed to secure a 10-day ceasefire agreement, which ends tomorrow. There are reports that more negotiations will take place this week.
Various Asian countries are allowed to pass through the Strait, including Pakistan, India, and the Philippines.
Chinese ships reportedly also passed safely, and President Xi Jinping has called for the route to remain open.
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