This week, I was hurled into the ranks of the unfortunate people who
have had their identities stolen by a dodgy crypto enterprise – and, as
the above headline indicates, I’m pissed.
As I was informed by a well-wisher via an email this week, I am being
advertised as an “advisor” to a supposed cryptocurrency project called
“US Veteran Token” (USVT) that insinuates that it in some way supports
the men and women that have admirably served their country in the
military.
But it appears to all be a ruse. A big fat fake.
The sender of the email informed me that, not only had I been linked
to the website, but members of his team had also had their bios stolen
and posted on the site.
My own bio was lifted, along with an older image, verbatim, from the
CoinDesk website. That is, apart from my cryptocurrency disclosure,
which had been hiked significantly in value and altered to include USVT.
For the record, if it isn’t already clear, I do not own any USVT, and
I do not have any association with the project. My emailer said that,
in fact, the site was a rip-off of a genuine military-focused service he
had been developing, but is currently on hold.
Still, I suppose I should take some small satisfaction in being in
good company. Also included in “testimonials” is chairman of the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission Jay Clayton.
When CoinDesk reached out to Clayton’s office, we got the reply from an SEC spokesperson:
“Neither the SEC nor the Chairman endorse or
approve securities offerings, including initial coin offerings (ICOs) or
cryptocurrency offerings. While SEC staff reviews filings for
compliance with disclosure obligations, the SEC does not evaluate the
merits of any offering nor does it determine if securities offered are
good investments.”
Others who are listed as being connected with the site have also
taken to social media to make it clear they have no involvement with the
suspect project.
At press time, the site is showing 404 status and most content is not
showing. Whether someone has taken action or the project thought better
of its actions, I’m not sure.
But with it showing many hallmarks of a scam, my opinion is crypto
investors out there would do well to avoid US Veteran Token
(usveterantoken[dot]net) and its touted “ICO,” if it should get back
online
Images via USVT website
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