Certain organization such as MMM Global have been accepting bitcoin payments in what appears to be a rehashing of the pyramid scheme of the same name that was started back in the Soviet Union.
Now, CEO Bobby Lee and the BTCC team issued a warning to its customers and potential bitcoin investors that BTCC is in no way affiliated with such schemes, and that investors must consider validating the entity promoting any bitcoin related investments to ensure its legitimacy.
1/ We've had reports of dubious "investments" involving #bitcoin. These may be ponzi schemes designed to steal your bitcoins.
— BTCC (@YourBTCC) October 14, 2015
Over the past few months, customers of prominent bitcoin exchanges and investment firms like BTCC and San Francisco-based bitcoin investment firm Pantera Capital have seen an increasing number of investment scams and ponzi schemes.
Last month, anonymous hackers claiming to be Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead sent an email blast using the email address [email protected], to coax Pantera Newsletter subscribers into investing in a highly profitable investment offer.
Although none of the customers were involved with this scam, the professionalism and complexity of the letter convinced many of Pantera Capital investors by imitating Pantera flawlessly.
The letter offered small investment opportunities starting from 0.5 BTC all the way to 15 BTC, and guaranteed around 2 BTC in profit in less than 30 days of investment.
A section of the letter read:
“We are now accepting subscriptions for the first ever Pantera Blitz Fund. This Fund designed specifically on investing for a short period of time and with a guaranteed fixed returns. Our offer stands for 15% per month subscription limiting max. deposit 50 BTC per person.
Deposit 15 BTC to address: 19QiVvDdyC8sMPNrX8us159TefrCcS6xeB or scan QR code for participation.”
MMM Global Republic of Bitcoin
Sergey Mavrodi, founder one of the largest Ponzi schemes of all time, which stole around US$10 billion worth of funds has initiated another investment scheme with bitcoin and the same brand name.
MMM Global, derived from his previous billion dollar ponzi scheme MMM guarantees 100% profit per month by having its users purchase “Mavros,” which Mavrodi describes as altcoins and invest in a “Global Fund of Mutual Aid.”
“MMM is a community of people providing each other financial help on the principle of gratuitousness, reciprocity and benevolence. We use BITCOIN infrastructure in our transactions. In MMM you don’t have to make contracts or pledge your property. In MMM there are no lenders and no debtors. Everything is very simple: one participant asks for help — another one helps,” the website explains.
The fund has gained popularity from many South African bitcoin users and investors from South East Asia. This time, a lot of new “bitcoin investors” may fall victim to Mavrodi once again, which certainly won’t help Bitcoin’s public image (e.g. MtGox), and that’s something Lee and Bitcoin users will be hoping to avoid this time around.
