Spanish police officers have arrested six people as part of a two-year operation to paralyze a crypto investment scam that used artificial intelligence to concentrate 208 people from more than € 19 million ($ 21.5 million) in total.
The operation started two years ago when a man from the city of Granada went to the police after he had lost € 624,000 (more than $ 700,000), said the Spanish National Police.
Authorities said that the alleged criminals used realistic videos of celebrities, powered by AI, to convince potential investors to transfer cash.
To maintain the competitors, the group of victims would say that in order to unlock their initial investment, they would have to connect more money to the scheme – which promised enormous returns through crypto investments.
The Spanish police did not say which cryptocurrencies the scammers used, but generally warned the public for investments in digital assets.
“The national police and the civilian hook remind citizens of the importance of extreme caution in the light of investment offers that promise high profit and no risks,” said the Spanish police.
“Be aware of the fraudulent use of artificial intelligence in particular to generate advertisements in which supposedly known personalities recommend investing in non-regulated platforms.”
The head of the criminal ring was caught before he fled to Dubai, the police said, adding that the six arrested suspects were between 34 and 57 years old. The police did not say if they had succeeded in conjuring back the lost funds.
Suspects are accused of fraud, money laundering and false documentation costs and the research is still open.
The use of celebrities to fleece potential investors of cash in Crypto-swam is nothing new scammers have set up fake accounts for years using using False videos of famous people Promising enormous returns as part of internet cons.
In the meantime, there has been an eruption of social media accounts of celebrities in recent years and used to promote pump-and-dump meme coin scam. This week Slash left x After his account was hacked and stolen to promote such a scam.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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