Last Friday (16), the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) announced that a foreign website promoting cryptocurrency scams using the image of the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, was taken down.
As the institution responsible for the legal representation, oversight, and control of the Union and the Federative Republic of Brazil, the AGU sent an extrajudicial notification to the Public Domain Registry, a US company. The document was sent on May 9th.
Upon receiving the notification, the American company proceeded to block the domain, eliminating another internet scam.
AGU says website promoting cryptocurrency scams spread fake news about minister
In explaining the case to the public, the AGU disclosed that the fake website promoted itself as a Brazilian news portal. Thus, it attracted victims with the image of the Minister of Finance to try to steal funds.
“This measure is quite significant,” says prosecutor Raphael Ramos Monteiro de Souza, head of the National Attorney’s Office for the Defense of Democracy (PNDD), one of those who worked on the case. “This is another effort by the Brazilian State, through the AGU and partner agencies, to curb the spread of fraudulent information and illicit practices in the digital environment.”
Without revealing which site was simulated by the scam, the AGU says that the criminals used the image of a well-known Brazilian news portal. Thus, it simulated an interview with Fernando Haddad in which the minister promoted a digital platform for cryptocurrency trading.
In addition, the false content used various symbols of Brazilian news portals to convey confidence to victims.
AGU acted at the request of the Ministry of Finance
The Attorney General’s Office acted at the request of the Ministry of Finance. In this way, the prosecutors who sent the extrajudicial document argued that the site’s conduct violated the fundamental right to informational integrity.
With this, it could be configured as a crime of fraud in the digital environment. In addition, it violates Brazilian law, affronting the Terms of Use of the domain’s hosting company in the USA.
“The referred site, with a clear fraudulent nature, represents a risk to the financial security of Brazilian families, as it intends to deceive users into registering on the platform and transferring financial resources, under the pretext of making very profitable investments,” the prosecutors argue in the document.
According to prosecutor Raphael Ramos, the victory is “the result of an international extrajudicial collaborative path, reinforcing cooperation between the public and private sectors, all in line with the latest recommendations from the OECD and UNESCO.“
