cryptocurrency scammers prey upon those looking to make easy riches. Their tactics involve using fraudulent websites and bogus customer support direct messages in order to gain your money before taking it and running away with it. Sometimes they even convince investors to invest more when their platform increases in value before suddenly locking you out, closing their website, and disappearing with it all.
Scammers also rely on fake celebrity endorsements to build trust with unsuspecting consumers. Scammers create real photos of celebrities and post them online as fake endorsements to supposedly legitimize their products and gain trust of unsuspecting shoppers. These fake endorsements help make the products appear more genuine while drawing them closer.
Crypto scammers attempt to take your money by pretending they are helping the poor or needy; often telling you your donation will go towards charity. While this tactic has become common among some high-profile crypto scams, be wary that any money sent this way likely won’t end up where promised.
Scammers sometimes pose as recruiters or job seekers to gain access to cryptocurrency accounts of people. From there, they use those accounts to deposit funds into fake exchanges; or convince people to deposit their money in mining pools run by scammers where they profit off others’ computing power.
Scammers often tempt investors to invest in cryptocurrency by convincing them it will increase in value, yet these scams remain particularly risky as victims often don’t realize their investment is being stolen until it is too late. Furthermore, fraudsters may use stolen money to purchase additional cryptocurrencies or assets to be sold or traded onto new investors.
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued a warning about online platforms masquerading as licensed crypto exchanges, such as Hash Blockchain Limited or OSL Digital Securities Limited, which use names and branding similar to them. Police will cooperate in taking measures against these fake platforms.
Scam victims find it hard to retrieve their funds from scammers due to them typically operating out of foreign locations and paying services with money from untracable wallets. Furthermore, Hong Kong does not prohibit this form of fraud and compensation cannot be sought through legal recourse for victims who fall prey.
Hong Kong lawmakers are pushing for stricter regulations to help Hong Kong become a global web3 hub while protecting consumers from fraudulent practices. Unfortunately, enforcement remains challenging due to issues like difficulty identifying criminals and lack of jurisdiction over virtual assets; scammers are also known for using pseudonyms or digital wallets not linked directly to themselves for concealment purposes.
