Hong Kong Police Arrest 25-Year-Old Man For $191,000 Cryptocurrency Fraud

Hong Kong police have arrested a 24-year-old man for allegedly piloting a cryptocurrency scam sometime last week, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday. 

24-Year-Old Man Steals 191k in Crypto

As per the report, the suspect coaxed a cryptocurrency investor into transferring HK$1.5 million (approximately US$191,000) worth of digital assets in a shopping mall on May 4.

Police arrested the suspect on Tuesday and he is currently detained on account of suspicion of theft, an offense punishable by 10 years of prison terms, the report added. 

At the time of arrest, the officers seized some of the suspects’ personal belongings, including his jewelry and mobile phone, which was alleged to be the same as the one he used on the day of the crime.

Not the First in Hong Kong 

In April, Hong Kong authorities arrested a man believed to be involved in a $102,067 cryptocurrency scam. The suspect is said to be a member of the Triad organization, a notorious gang group that has been terrorizing the country since 1945. 

According to the report, the victim met and handed $102k in cash to the suspect who promised to send digital currency worth of the amount back to him. 

Crypto Mugging Hits London

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom recently welcomed a new wave of “crypto muggings” in London. According to a Guardian report earlier this week, criminals are roaming the streets, forcefully collecting the phones of crypto investors and transferring digital assets from their crypto accounts.

So far, victims have lost funds worth thousands of pounds. One of the victims said a group of muggers approached them while waiting for a cab and asked everyone to surrender their phones. The phones were later returned with €5,000 worth of Ethereum gone out of the victim’s Coinbase account. 

Another victim reported that the criminals approached him and offered to sell him cocaine, and he agreed to go to a secluded place to complete the deal. The man was forced to unlock an app on his phone that allowed them to transfer £6,000 worth of XRP from his account.

Police are currently investigating how to tackle the issue.