Key takeaways:
- Four people, including a 14-year-old, have been taken into custody by Hong Kong police as part of a massive operation against financial crime.
- The suspects were taken into custody on July 26 and accused of conspiring to commit fraud and possessing and using five thousand fake banknotes.
Four people, including a 14-year-old, have been taken into custody by Hong Kong police as part of a massive operation against financial crime for their involvement in a ring that used fake banknotes to deceive crypto owners.
Local media reported that losses from the operation could have reached HK$11 million (US$1.4 million). The arrests are a part of law enforcement’s continued efforts to stop the surge in scams involving crypto in the area.
Lo Yuen-shan, the chief inspector of the Commercial Crime Bureau, disclosed on July 28 that with these most recent arrests, the total number of people arrested in relation to these scams since October of last year has reached 14.
The suspects, who range in age from 14 to 39, were taken into custody on July 26 and accused of conspiring to commit fraud as well as possessing and using five thousand fake banknotes.
The police described the syndicate’s organizational structure, outlining the distinct responsibilities given to each member. The masterminds behind the phoney banknotes’ acquisition from a small storage facility in Mong Kok were revealed to have been two of the suspects, while they also pretended to be a legitimate firm at a nearby area.
They lured victims in with offers that were higher than the going rate for digital currencies by pretending to be a well-known crypto investor. They also went after possible victims on the internet.
As part of the scam, victims were invited to the fictitious store and shown piles of fake HK$1,000 ($128) banknotes. The strategy was to trick victims into thinking the entire stack was real by making only the top and bottom notes real. The suspects demanded online purchases to complete the transaction, forbidding the victims from untying the stacks.
Following the crypto transfer, the con artists quickly removed the assets from the account and stopped making payments, leaving the victims with nothing. Chief Inspector Lo pointed out that the group and others had defrauded 12 victims of HK$11 million (US$1.4 million) between October 2023 and the arrest and that these techniques were typical of recent occurrences.
With regard to digital currencies in particular, the arrests underscore Hong Kong’s continuous fight against financial fraud.
Two prominent Hong Kong crypto influencers have been connected to the troubled JPEX exchange in Dubai; they are the target of a global manhunt by Interpol due to accusations of theft, fraud, and money laundering.
