Scammers Demand Crypto for Hormuz Strait Safe Transit

Greek maritime risk management firm MARISKS issued an alert Monday warning that messages promising safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Bitcoin or Tether are a scam.

The fraudulent messages claimed to be from Iranian Security Services and told ship operators they could pass through the strait after paying cryptocurrency fees. One message stated that after providing documents and assessing eligibility, authorities would determine the fee to be paid in Bitcoin or Tether, allowing the vessel to transit the strait unimpeded at a pre-agreed time. MARISKS told Reuters the messages were not sent by Iranian authorities.

Roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the Strait of Hormuz before war broke out. Hundreds of ships remain stranded in the Gulf while the US maintains its blockade of Iranian ports and Iran has repeatedly lifted and re-imposed its own blockade of the strait.

At least two vessels reported that Iranian boats fired shots at them on April 18, when Iran briefly opened the strait. One vessel that tried to exit on Saturday was hit by gunfire and believed to be a victim of the fraud, though Reuters could not verify the information or track which companies received the scam messages.

Tehran has proposed tolls on vessels for safe transit as ceasefire talks drag on, with approximately 20,000 seafarers remaining stranded in the Gulf as of April 22, 2026.