Unknown attackers are sending shipping companies fake demands for payment of transit fees in bitcoins or stablecoins, promising in return unhindered transit through the mined and blocked strait.
Unknown attackers are sending shipping companies fake demands for payment of transit fees in bitcoins or stablecoins, promising in return unhindered transit through the mined and blocked strait.
Maritime risk management company MARISKS has officially warned about the messages being part of a large-scale fraudulent scheme and not official requests from Iranian authorities.
The incidents come amid a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has left hundreds of ships and about 20,000 sailors stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the conflict in the Middle East, a situation that cybercriminals are trying to exploit, Reuters reported .
The scheme operates by sending out messages purporting to be from official Iranian authorities. The scammers request documents for a «suitability assessment» and then issue an invoice in digital currency.
«After providing documents and assessing your suitability by Iranian security services, we will be able to determine the amount of the fee to be paid in cryptocurrency (BTC or USDT). Only then will your vessel be able to pass the strait unhindered at the pre-agreed time,» the attackers’ demand states.
MARISKS notes that such manipulations have already led to real threats: at least one ship, which believed the promises of the scammers and tried to leave the strait on Saturday, came under fire from Iranian boats and was forced to turn back. The Tehran authorities have not yet commented on the use of their name in cybercrime schemes.
Recall that the price of oil rose sharply after US President Donald Trump’s statement about blocking the Strait of Hormuz and the failure of peace talks with Iran, as well as Iran’s own response to this statement.
Earlier, US Vice President J.D. Vance said that American negotiators received three different proposals from Iranian counterparts to end the war. The US suspects that one of them was compiled with the help of the OpenAI AI chatbot.
