Marisks warned that scammers posing as Iranian authorities sought Bitcoin or USDT from shipowners for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20,000 vessels are stranded in the Gulf. Marisks said several shipping companies received the messages and believed at least one ship may have been deceived and then fired upon while trying to cross the strait over the weekend. Marisks said the messages were not from official Iranian sources.