Russia’s Central Bank has warned citizens about a crypto “scam” project based on the hit drama series The Boy’s Word: Blood on the Asphalt.
Per the media outlet VN.RU, the project also calls itself “The Boy’s Word.” But the Central Bank says the project is a “pyramid scheme” that has no official association with the show.
The bank said that the project was a “financial pyramid” that asks “investors” to pay “the equivalent of $10.”
In return, buyers are told they will receive tokens that are “supposedly the project’s own cryptocurrency.”
The masterminds “promise that the tokens will constantly increase in price, and earn buyers a guaranteed income of up to 25% per day.”
Oleg Dubrovsky, of the Central Bank’s Siberian Main Directorate, said that advertisements for the project were circulating on social media sites and chat apps.
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Some of these advertisements feature music and images from the series, along with pictures that appear to have been stolen from bona fide cryptoasset providers’ sites.
And, the Central Bank executive warned, a rug-pull would be forthcoming. Dubrovsky explained:
“This pseudo-investment project has nothing to do with the series. It is a classic pyramid. People are being promised high earnings if they bring in new investors. But there are no contact details listed on the site.”
Dubrovsky added that the project has no licensee to operate in the financial market and claimed:
“As soon as the organizers collect [enough] funds, they will disappear with the money.”
The Central Bank official added that “only financial organizations with Central Bank-issued permits” can ask for “public investment.”
The bank said that it had added the project to its list of “probable financial pyramid schemes.”
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The show, distributed on Russian streaming channels, has become an internet sensation in the country. It has also been a hit in other Russian-speaking nations.
According to Verstka, Yandex data shows that more Russians performed “The Boy’s Word”-related searches in 2023 than the terms “war in Ukraine” and “special military operation.”
The drama tells the tale of Soviet Era high schoolers who join a violent gang in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan.