How can we avoid fraud in virtual asset transactions? (bonus: virtual assistant)
Automatically translated summary. The full text is available in Romanian.
Independent Think Tank “Expert-Grup” has published an information note explaining virtual assets and the most common frauds linked to them, so that consumers in the Republic of Moldova can spot and avoid scams. It was produced under a national consumer information campaign and comes with an interactive virtual assistant.
The note says the success of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Solana has drawn in both the public and fraudsters, who use Web3 technologies and artificial intelligence for ever more sophisticated schemes. The latest, the TUX platform, is estimated to have cost Moldovan consumers about EUR 48 million. The interactive assistant helps users check the potential risk of an investment involving virtual assets.
It defines virtual assets as digital representations of value that can be traded, transferred or used for payments, and that can be programmed through smart contracts on distributed ledgers. They fall into crypto-assets, whose value depends only on demand, and tokenised assets tied to real-world goods or rights, such as stablecoins. NFTs are unique digital assets. The EU’s MiCA Regulation (2023/1114) sorts tokenised assets into e-money tokens, asset-referenced tokens and utility tokens.
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