SNEAK PEEK
- Crypto Accounts for 70 percent of Online Investment Scams in Hong Kong.
- A single victim lost as much as HK$15 million (about US$2 million) in a crypto scam.
- The Hong Kong police have issued warnings to locals.
According to a survey that was released recently by a public broadcaster in Hong Kong, frauds using cryptocurrencies and other digital assets have been responsible for 70 percent of all online investment fraud schemes in the nation. According to the authorities, a single victim lost as much as HK$15 million (about US$2 million) in cryptocurrency fraud.
For instance, during the first ten months of 2022, the Hong Kong Police Force reported receiving 1,503 complaints about fraudulent internet investment schemes. In comparison to the same time period the year before, this represents a rise of around 90%. Hong Kong lost a total of over HK$770 million (US$98 million) to online scams during this period.
According to one story, authorities discovered that fraudsters had copied an investment platform that has existed for many years to rip off investments. Since the inquiry is still underway, the authorities insist that the phony platform remains in place.
Despite all the bad news for the industry, the Hong Kong police have issued warnings to locals, with an emphasis on the investment community. The authorities advise them to utilize search engines and domain name tools to determine the age of the platform and whether or not there are many results for relevant queries.
This will serve as a distinguishing feature of the genuineness of the platform. The authorities warned that the legitimate online investing platform’s customer support team could not help with every possible transaction. They will not, however, request that clients wire funds to their own accounts. They also urge the public to exercise caution when buying and selling securities if they are not well-versed in these markets.