With the crypto going mainstream, crypto scams too have increased. Hong Kong is one of the countries with most crypto enthusiasts. As per the latest reports, crypto scams in Hong Kong have dramatically increased in 2022. Digital assets make 25% of these crypto scams.
Increased interest of Hong Kong residents is being claimed as the reason behind the increasing number of such scams. According to a recent report, the state has called Hong-Kong as the most crypto-ready nation in the world.
During the period between early January and late June this year, 10,613 cyber attacks were reported in Hong Kong as revealed from a South China Morning Post coverage. A whopping 105% increase is found in the cryptocurrency related crimes since last year, with the total cases reported to be 798.
Bad actors looted $387.9 million (around $50 million) from digital-firms based in Hong-Kong and individuals combined. Again, it is a dramatic increase from last year’s $ 21 million funds loss in H1.
Fan, a 30-year-old woman, is the victim of one such crypto crime. She manages a cryptocurrency exchange. Fan received a Whatsapp message from a digital asset owner who claimed to be the owner of a digital asset firm. The culprit convinced her to invest approx. $280,000 in Tether (USDT).
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The law enforcement agents explained that the first four transactions to crypto exchange Tether were conducted successfully. HK$2.7 million were received by the victim, including her payment to the criminal. Till this point the victim was successful in establishing trust with the victim. Soon, the bad actor asked the woman to transfer the profits to a fake crypto wallet. After that the scammer stopped communication with her, resulting in Fan losing access to her assets.
According to the Hong-Kong police, crypto-related crimes come under the top three crimes in the country in 2022’s first half.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/08/07/crypto-related-crimes-among-the-top-three-cheats-in-hong-kong/