Taking advantage of the chaos! A cryptocurrency toll scam has been spotted in the Hormuz Strait, with ships already falling for it and being shot at.

Tensions in the Middle East remain volatile, and scam groups are impersonating Iranian authorities to pitch the cryptocurrency “Safe Passage” to shipping companies trapped in the Strait of Hormuz.

With tensions in the Middle East far from resolved, new types of scams have emerged as a direct consequence. According to a report by Reuters, because the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked and large numbers of ships are stranded, the scam group even claimed to be Iranian authorities and told shipping companies that they could obtain a “Safe Passage” by paying cryptocurrency.

Greek maritime risk service company MARISKS issued a warning, saying that multiple shipping operators have already received scam messages requesting payment of a “toll fee” in Bitcoin or USDT.

The report notes that, at present, it is confirmed that at least one ship has fallen for the trap: when it attempted to enter the strait, believing it had obtained “privileged passage,” it was shot at on the spot, becoming an innocent victim in this geopolitical crisis.

Since Feb 28, when the United States and Israel launched military actions against Iran, Iran has been blocking shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. According to Reuters, there are currently about 20,000 tankers and other cargo ships trapped in the Persian Gulf.

However, the key reason shipowners are panicking and even finding it hard to tell what’s real from what’s fake is that Iranian authorities previously did have a similar concept. As early as Apr 9, Tehran authorities had already floated the idea of “charging a passage fee in exchange for cryptocurrency.” At the time, Hamid Hosseini, a spokesperson for the Iranian oil, natural gas, and petrochemical products exporters’ association, publicly said that this “passage fee” would likely be collected in the form of Bitcoin.

However, to cut off funding for the Iranian government and its military actions, U.S. President Trump had already ordered a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz a week earlier and has seized an Iranian vessel that tried to evade the blockade.

To prevent more shipping operators from being victimized, MARISKS also publicly disclosed the phishing script used by the scam group:

After you provide documents and your eligibility is assessed by Iran’s security department, we will confirm the exact amount you must pay in cryptocurrency (BTC or USDT). After completing the payment, your vessel can cross the strait during the prearranged time.

MARISKS emphasizes that these messages are entirely scam traps and are absolutely not from the official Iranian government.

• This article is reprinted with authorization from: 《Blockcha(sic)er》
• Original title: 《Taking advantage of the crisis! A “crypto coin toll fee” scam appears in the Strait of Hormuz, and ships have already been shot after falling for it》
• Original author: Blockcha(sic)er Sister MEL