Poland’s KNF Impersonated in Cryptocurrency Scam

Poland’s financial regulator is reporting a surge in impersonation scams over the last few months with cryptocurrency fraudsters doing the rounds, claiming to provide investment offers supervised by the KNF.

The Polish Financial Supervision ‎Authority explains that it was aware of investment cold-calls, which featured the regulator's name being involved in monitoring the progress of proposed crypto-asset transactions. The general setup seems to be that the fraudsters call a consumer, ask them to sell or buy Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term, and then tell them that KNF staff will participate in the process to ensure the consumer's investment is legal.

Once fraudsters have targeted an investor for one of these crypto scams, they are relentless in their communications. Phone calls start out as friendly and business-like, albeit usually very persistent. Meanwhile, the regulator urges customers concerned about or involved in such transactions, to get in touch.

“If, during the interview, you have been informed that a given person performs activities with the participation or in agreement with the PFSA or the KNF, refrain from further contact and immediately notify the nearest Police unit. Try to collect and present as much detail as possible about the event in the notification. Any piece of information can be useful,” the regulator said.

According to the KNF’s website, trading in crypto-assets and trading venues themselves are not prohibited by law, and therefore, its transactions are 'legal in the territory of the Republic of Poland.'

The Warsaw watchdog also noted the lack of proper regulations in place. Thus, crypto assets are somewhat murky investments and are difficult to be kept safe, unlike ‎strictly regulated traditional financial markets.

Nevertheless, Poland has made localized attempts to regulate specific aspects of cryptocurrencies. While some of those instances are more concerning than others, none of it has officially banned the virtual asset class. Instead, the country has taken a stance similar to other countries to regulate the sector and prevent its use in criminal activities.

Additionally, Poland’s finance ministry updated the country’s tax ‎code to regulate the taxation of proceeds that are received from cryptocurrency trading.‎ The MoF ‎justified its taxing decision by stating it considers ‎conducting an in-depth analysis to better regulate the ‎emerging industry.‎