Ugandan nationals have fallen victim to another crypto scam which promised returns of 40%, having been revealed as a key target for the famous OneCoin scam. Dozens of people in Masaka district, in Uganda’s southern region, fell victim to the promises made by Dunamiscoin Resources Limited, a purported cryptocurrency investment company that opened in the town in November but has now abandoned the office after taking millions of Ugandan dollars from locals.
Dozens suffer losses in sham #cryptocurrency scheme in Masaka. Victims were lured by Dunamiscoin Resources Ltd so as to earn 40% interest on their investments. On Thur, clients & staff were shocked to find the offices empty & closed https://t.co/yx3nXqOYWD #fraud #Uganda pic.twitter.com/l6eu32lcKO
— The Observer (@observerug) December 9, 2019
Employees Paid to Join the Company
According to Ugandan news outlet The Observer, Dunamiscoin set up shop in the town center and began luring local people into joining the so-called network with the promise of earning 40% interest on their deposits, as well as hiring salespeople to convince others to invest. However, after operating for some three weeks and taking in millions of Ugandan shillings, employees and investors turned up to the office last Thursday only to find it closed and no evidence that they had ever been there.
Alongside directly obtaining money from unsuspecting investors, the newspaper says that Dunamiscoin also recruited at least 50 local employees to work as marketing executives and managers, cashiers, office assistants, and receptionists among others, which undoubtedly made it seem like a more legitimate operation. However, anyone wishing to work for Dunamiscoin had to pay up front for interviews and registration and invest money into the company, with the same 40% return promised.
Another Day, Another Ponzi
The Dunamiscoin scam seems to have been a classic Ponzi scheme, very much like the Bitcoin Wallet scam recently seen in South Africa where investors were promised a 100% return within 15 days. The difference in this case is that the police have made arrests, with Samson Lwanga, one of the directors of Dunamiscoins Resources Limited, having already been apprehended. However, the other members of the team shouldn’t feel too great about having evaded the law – Sphelele “Sgumza” Mbatha, the man behind Bitcoin Wallet, had his house burnt down by angry investors.
