Two men have reported losing a combined total of almost €75,000 in separate online cryptocurrency fraud incidents, the police said on Friday..

One person, a 72-year-old Nicosia man, reported that he lost €48,500 after expressing interest in a cryptocurrency advertisement online.

A person who claimed to be from the company which was advertised then contacted the man, he reported. The 72-year-old agreed to download an app on his computer.

The alleged scammer first requested €250 from the man, which was returned as profit. Afterward, the man allowed online bank transfers of €1,000, €7,500, and €40,000 to the alleged scammer, who claimed it was for investment purposes.

A relative of the man later found that the app was fake, and he realised it was a scam.

In the other incident, a 39-year-old Paphos man reported losing approximately €26,400.

The man found a website online about cryptocurrency and contacted the website. A woman claiming to represent the website then persuaded him to invest in cryptocurrencies.

The Paphos man transferred €12,448 of his own cryptocurrency to an account the woman from the website indicated.

Later, when the man requested the profits to be transferred back to his own account, unknown individuals allegedly asked for additional payments to cover alleged expenses.

The man realised he had been scammed when individuals continued to ask for additional payments, he reported.

The police is investigating both reported incidents.