Paraguay Registers $4 Billion in Cryptocurrency Scams

Cryptocurrency scams and Ponzi schemes are growing in emerging markets, where people are enticed to invest by the promises of high returns in a short period. Authorities recently revealed that this kind of scheme has thrived in Paraguay, where over $4 billion was moved by these platforms between 2023 and 2024.

Diosnel Alarcon, head of the cybercrime department of the National Police in Paraguay, stated that exchange platforms and social networks were key elements to these operations.

During a recent interview, Alarcon highlighted that people were led to these fraudulent platforms due to the high yields offered. However, due to the lack of knowledge in crypto, users received fake money in fraudulent accounts managed by middlemen, which were pivotal for the operation of these scams.

He stated:

They create fake platforms as a lure, as well as small profits added to the victims’ bank accounts, who will wait up to four months to realize they have been scammed.

Alarcon explained that this number included platforms that don’t necessarily originate in Paraguay, but that have used Paraguay as a transit country, leveraging Paraguayan accounts and platforms to funnel funds obtained illegally.

While he did not reveal the processes followed to obtain this number, Alarcon noted that specialized companies participated in the analysis leading to this conclusion.

Alarcon also said that while cryptocurrency transactions were 100% traceable, recovering these funds and discovering the names behind these movements was not always possible due to the bureaucratic processes involving international governments and foreign companies.

Nonetheless, he sustained that with quick reports of these fraudulent activities, authorities have a higher possibility of stopping these operations and recovering the funds before they leave the country via cryptocurrency exchanges or fiat movements.