Hong Kong Police Arrest Crypto Exchange Shop Employees on Suspicion of Fraud

Hong Kong police have arrested three employees of a currency exchange shop on suspicion of fraudulent activities.

This followed an incident where a customer at the store was reportedly confronted with piles of “hell money” before executing a cryptocurrency transfer worth around HK$1 million.

Hong Kong authorities arrest 3 on charges of cryptocurrency fraud

On Wednesday, the Hong Kong Technology Crime Department He was arrested Three individuals between 31 and 34 years old. Authorities confiscated 3,000 banknotes, a safe and a banknote counting machine from a shop in Tsim Sha Tsui. Hell banknotes, used in traditional Chinese rituals as offerings to ancestors or gods, were among the items seized.

The arrest followed a report from a 35-year-old man on April 12. The man claimed to have sold about HK$1 million worth of Tether (USDT) at a Tsim Sha Tsui store but was unable to get a refund.

Later, investigation revealed that the suspects presented hellish stacks of banknotes, each worth HK$500. They then convinced the victim to transfer USDT to the cryptocurrency wallet they provided.

Upon receiving the virtual currency, the suspects failed to fulfill their agreement. They made various excuses and quickly left the scene, leaving the victim empty-handed.

In Hong Kong, the penalty for fraud is up to 14 years in prison. Meanwhile, individuals accused of obtaining property by deception may face a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Following the incident, Hong Kong authorities asked residents to be careful when making transactions. They also advised them to choose reputable cryptocurrency exchange shops and check banknotes for security features to prevent falling victim to such scams.

Cryptocurrency scams in Hong Kong are a growing pain

This is not the first cryptocurrency scam and fraud incident in Hong Kong. Hong Kong authorities recently arrested three teenagers and rescued a 19-year-old who had been assaulted and illegally detained.

The victim was lured with the promise of meeting people and trading crypto assets. Instead, upon arriving at a room at the Harbor Grand Kowloon Hotel on Tak Fong Street, the suspects demanded HK$180,000 (about US$23,000) in cryptocurrency trading profits.

In another incident, a 46-year-old housewife lost HK$7.1 million (US$908,000) after scammers first contacted her via Instagram, asking her to invest in cryptocurrencies through a link to a scam platform.

One bad actress posed as a customer service representative from the fake trading platform, and convinced her to transfer more than $900,000 to 15 different bank accounts from August 19, 2022, to March 4, 2023. However, throughout this period, she received no returns on her investments.