Scammers request Hormuz ship captains for USDT en Bitcoin

Two weeks after Iran started demanding crypto payments for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, we now have the first reports of crypto scammers operating in those waters as well. Unsurprisingly, oil tanker captains do not yet really know how to distinguish a real Iranian crypto account from a fake one.

Yuan

As part of the rather fragile peace agreement between the United States and Iran of a few weeks ago, the Islamic regime in Tehran started demanding payment in cryptocurrencies from every ship wishing to sail through the Strait of Hormuz (a passage that used to be free).

Ships have the choice to pay in USDT, Bitcoin, or Chinese Yuan.

Yesterday, it became known that a ship had been fired upon by the Iranian regime, while the captain insisted at all costs that the requested 2 million dollars in crypto had been transferred.

It has since become clear that scammers were sending fake messages to the captains of various ships waiting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Since the toll payment is new, it was quite easy for scammers to forge documents.

It is unclear at this moment how many ships have paid the toll to scammers, as some nationalities are granted free passage by the Iranian government, while others are required to pay.