Fraudulent messages are being sent to shipowners, offering safe passage across the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for crypto payments, with at least one vessel reportedly falling victim to the scam. Marisks, a Greek maritime risk services company, has issued a warning after several shipping companies received messages from scammers posing as Iranian authorities, asking for bitcoin or USDT.
The firm believes at least one ship was targeted and came under fire while attempting to pass through the strait. The Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked by Iran since February 28, leaving around 20,000 oil tankers and freighters stranded in the Gulf. The US has initiated a naval blockade of the strait and seized an Iranian vessel trying to evade the operation. Iran had proposed crypto tolls on vessels in exchange for safe transit, with fees likely to be charged in bitcoin.
Marisks has assured that the messages are a scam and did not come from official Iranian sources. The fraudulent messages claim that after providing documents and assessing eligibility, a fee in cryptocurrency will be determined, allowing the vessel to transit the strait unimpeded at a pre-agreed time.