12 December, 2019 | AtoZ Markets – To prevent financial crimes and the growing threats to the country's monetary system, Netherlands is stepping up to punish crypto scammers. Earlier this year, Dutch investors lost up to two million US dollars (1.9 million US dollars) in fake celebrity bitcoin scams. That news also appears on social media.
Last month the Dutch court demanded that Facebook should remove false and deceptive cryptocurrency ads from its platform. It will prevent people in their country from being attacked.
Netherlands Puts Crypto Scammers on the Radar
The country plans to take a stricter stance against crimes of the new age. That includes cryptocurrency scams, the promotion of false information, phishing, and forging of card details. The new regulation is proposed by the Ministry of Justice and Security. Frauds using modern payment techniques could be punishable by imprisonment for up to six years. The previous term was the maximum sentence of four years.
Crimes using traditional payment methods, such as debit or credit cards and net banking, are already punishable by up to six years. And it appears that the country wants to align the penalties for cryptocurrency scammers and modern-day fraudsters over the new provided law.
According to the report, frauds evolve and in the digital age, online methods are commonplace to target a large number of victims. Thus, it is time that punishments also adapt to changing times. Ferdinand Grapperhaus, Justice Minister believes that a stronger stance and harsher sentences will significantly decrease financial crime rates.
Read More: Crypto Exchange BitMEX Faces $300 Million Investor Lawsuit
Crypto Scam Involving Payment Methods Such as Tikkie
In the Netherlands, Tikkie is a popular application. That allows users to send payment requests via e-mail, SMS, and WhatsApp. It also appears that the new laws come in response to the increasing number of scams. That uses apps like Tikkie to demand payment from victims.
It is not the first moment that the Netherlands has sought to update the regulations to extend it to the cryptocurrency. Last July, Dutch ministers lobbied for strict cryptocurrency regulations to fight money laundering in the country.
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