Hong Kong police were alerted on Saturday after a woman reported being scammed out of around HK$93,000 (US$11,970) in cryptocurrency at a Mong Kok exchange store. The 26-year-old woman kept in touch with a man on social media who claimed that he could convert her Tether coins (USDT) into HK dollars.
According to a source, the woman visited the store at 1 p.m., wherein she transferred 12,000 Tether, equivalent to about HK$93,660, to a specified cryptocurrency wallet. The man instructed her to wait at the store for his associate to arrive with her cash, but after no one had shown up by 3:55 p.m., she called the police.
Authorities have considered the case as obtaining property by betrayal and the Mong Kok district crime division has started the investigation. So far, no arrests have been made, but police are searching for a man in his thirties, with short hair, a stout build, and a height of about 1.8 meters (5 feet, 11 inches).
Under Hong Kong law, fraud convictions carry a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
The woman mentioned that she had been following the cryptocurrency store’s social media since August and decided to proceed with the transaction only after feeling assured of its credibility. However, after the incident, she reached out to the company behind the social media page, only to discover that they had no connection to the store.
These cases are the prime examples that which we should keep our eyes open otherwise the frauds do happen. Crypto frauds are quite common these days so people should be cautious while doing transactions on Binance, and other crypto brokers .
You can lose your hard-earned money. It’s better to be vigilant these days. This crime is the best example of how far can thieves go to steal money from your pockets. These days you can’t even trust your shadows.
Hopefully, the investigation has been started by the authorities and they will take the strictest actions.
