Philippine Police cracks latest crypto scam; 1,090 people rescued

• Philippine Police rescued 1,090 persons who were trafficked into the country in connection with a cryptocurrency scam.
• According to CertiK, crypto-related exploits, hacks, and scams cost the industry $103.6 million in April 2023.

According to a local news report, the Philippine National Police rescued 1,090 persons from various Asian countries. These individuals were trafficked into the country in connection with a cryptocurrency scam.

At least 12 suspected ringleaders have also been apprehended by local authorities. The scammers are thought to be connected to the Colourful and Leap Group. All of the accused were subjected to a human trafficking inquest hearing before the Department of Justice in Manila. The group was allegedly involved in a number of fraudulent activities and cryptocurrency schemes.

The report mentioned that the trafficking victims were offered jobs, free flights, and lodging. Their passports, however, were confiscated upon arrival in the nation. Furthermore, they were forced to work up to 18 hours each day, with pay deductions for breaks.

Michelle Sabino, a spokesman for the Philippine National Police’s anti-cybercrime unit, explained how the crypto fraud worked. She claimed that employees were coached to persuade outsiders to acquire crypto assets or deposit funds in fraudulent bank accounts after building phony romantic relationships.

The authorities rescued a total of 1,090 individuals who were trafficked from several nations and were held captive forcefully in order to execute online scams. The majority of the employees were from Asia, with the following countries represented: Vietnam (389), China (307), the Philippines (171), Indonesia (143), Nepal (40), Malaysia (25), Myanmar (7), Thailand (5), Taiwan (2) and Hong Kong (1).

$103.6 million lost to crypto scams in April

According to the blockchain security firm CertiK, crypto-related exploits, hacks, and scams cost the industry $103.6 million in April 2023. The industry lost $9.3 million and $19.8 million to exit scams and flash loan attacks respectively.

Source: Certik/Twitter

Furthermore, a large Ethereum Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) bot lost $25 million when it became a victim of a so-called “sandwich attack” by a rogue validator. The Bitrue exchange suffered a $23 million loss due to an exploit in one of its hot wallets.

Additionally, GDAC, a South Korean exchange, had a hot wallet compromised, resulting in a $13 million loss. The April figure, however, stood significantly lower than the $211.5 million in crypto assets lost to scams in March.