Fraudulent messages are being sent to shipowners, asking for cryptocurrency payments in exchange for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, with at least one vessel reportedly falling victim to the scam. According to a report by Reuters, Marisks, a Greek maritime risk services company, has issued a warning about these scam messages, which are purportedly from Iranian authorities and request bitcoin or USDT payments.
The firm believes that at least one ship has been targeted and was fired upon while attempting to pass through the strait. The warning comes as shipping traffic through the strait remains largely blocked by Iran, with approximately 20,000 oil tankers and freighters stranded in the Gulf. The U.S. and Israel initiated a war on Iran, leading to a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with one Iranian vessel seized for attempting to evade the operation.
Iran has proposed charging cryptocurrency tolls on vessels in exchange for safe transit, with fees likely to be paid in bitcoin, according to Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for Iran's Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Union. Marisks has assured that the messages are a scam and did not originate from official Iranian sources. The fraudulent messages claim that after providing documents and assessing eligibility, the Iranian Security Services will determine the fee to be paid in cryptocurrency, allowing the vessel to transit the strait unimpeded at a pre-agreed time.