{"id":14776,"date":"2018-02-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2019.dash.org\/2018\/02\/08\/speaking-of-fake-news\/"},"modified":"2021-09-18T11:38:03","modified_gmt":"2021-09-18T11:38:03","slug":"fakenews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.dash.org\/news\/fakenews\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaking of Fake News"},"content":{"rendered":"
Bogus Email Sent from China\u2019s Central Bank Mailbox about Bitcoin Crackdown<\/h1>\n
Fraudsters tried to spread rumors and panic, with an attempt to manipulate Bitcoin prices.<\/p>\n
Scamming has become common in the cryptocurrency market. These activities are not always about stealing coins \u2013 sometimes they aim to manipulate the market prices.<\/p>\n
In a recent such attempt, a bogus press invitation was sent to the US media houses claiming that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and People\u2019s Bank of China (PBOC) have joined hands to introduce new measures to crack down on Bitcoin trading in mainland China as well as independently governed Hong Kong, according to the South China Morning Post.<\/p>\n
The email claimed that on the 14th February, the HKMA and the PBOC will announce new anti-money laundering regulations in Beijing. The email also mentioned that the Chinese central bank deputy governor Pan Gongsheng will officiate the announcement.<\/p>\n
South China Morning Post quoted a section of the email: \u201c[to extend the crackdown to] all virtual currency services and activities of both individuals and business including market makers, mining operators, trading platforms, and wallets.\u201d<\/p>\n
The monetary authorities of both Hong Kong and China denied any such event taking place.<\/p>\n
The email was sent from the PBOC domain, ending with \u2018@pbc.gov.cn\u2019, in order to deceive the recipients. The sent emails even attached a registration form for journalists for the February 14th briefing.<\/p>\n
The owner of the compromised mailbox was identified as an official working at the Hefei branch of the Chinese central bank in Anhui province. He denied any knowledge of the activity from his account and added that his email had been hacked.<\/p>\n