Greek Cypriot man loses almost €500,000 in cryptocurrency scam

A Greek Cypriot man from Limassol was scammed out of €430,000 in a cryptocurrency scam, police said on Monday.

Police in Cyprus (south) said the scammers pretended to represent a reliable investment platform and had promised profits of up to $1.5 million.

After the man gave access to his electronic wallet, money was transferred from his account.

In January 2025 he was asked for another payment to unlock the promised profits, which he refused.

He later reported the incident to the police.

Greek Cypriot police on Monday warned the public to be cautious about investments in cryptocurrencies, with increasing reports of fraud between June 2024 and February 2025. Such investments, they said, “involve a high risk of losing money”.

Investors should make sure they are dealing with recognised companies and under no circumstances disclose passwords for electronic wallets or bank accounts.

Caution should be exercised when large profits are promised. It also recommended increasing security settings on cryptocurrency exchange accounts through measures such as two-factor authentication.