A new online cryptocurrency scam is being investigated after a 53-year-old man reported losing €434,000, the police announced on Wednesday.

According to the 53-year-old’s complaint, an unknown person online convinced him to invest in cryptocurrencies. The man sent $508,893, the equivalent of around €434,000, to various bank accounts and electronic wallets and later discovered that it was a fraud.

The police urged the public to exercise caution when carrying out transactions via the internet and urged them to cooperate only with recognised companies and approved advisors.

They emphasised that bank accounts and card details, passwords to online and email accounts, as well as other personal data, must be protected and never disclosed to anyone.