Last year, Belgium's economic inspectorate reported a loss of €2.94 million in losses due to cryptocurrency fraud, De Tijd reported on Friday based on figures released by Economy Minister Nathalie Muylle.
A cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin) is a type of virtual money existing only in electronic form that can be used online like ordinary money.
The true loss is probably more than €2.94 million, as this was merely what was reported to the inspectorate, according to De Tijd. Those who report fraud don't always communicate the amounts involved, Muylle added.
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In 2019, the economic inspectorate forwarded one file to the public prosecutor's office for fraud or attempted fraud, but it does not yet know what the public prosecutor's office has decided, Muylle said.
"We especially took initiatives on prevention," Muylle clarified, underlining that the Federal Public Service Economy (FPS Economy) warns against cryptocurrency fraud through press releases, information campaigns, a website and social networks. Muylle said that the government has also informed people of the way fraudsters work and that the economic inspectorate is "working actively with police forces to tackle the problem."
Jason Spinks
The Brussels Times
