A wave of scams is targeting shipowners stuck in the Hormuz blockade, with scammers posing as Iranian officials and demanding cryptocurrency payments for supposed safe passage. According to reports from Reuters, at least one vessel may have fallen prey to this scam, resulting in an attack while attempting to navigate the strait. Marisks, a Greek maritime risk services company, has issued a warning after several shipping companies received fraudulent messages asking for bitcoin or USDT in exchange for secure transit.
The company believes that at least one ship has been a victim of this scam. 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 has seized an Iranian vessel attempting to evade the operation. Recently, Tehran proposed the introduction of cryptocurrency tolls for vessels seeking safe passage, with the fees likely to be paid in bitcoin. Marisks has assured that the messages are a scam and did not originate from official Iranian sources. The fraudulent messages claim that upon providing documents and eligibility assessment by the Iranian Security Services, a fee in cryptocurrency will be determined, allowing the vessel to transit the strait unimpeded at a pre-agreed time.