Binance users in Hong Kong lose $450K in wave of fraud texts: HK police

Hong Kong’s constabulary unit has raised the alarm aft 11 Hong Kong-based Binance customers were targeted successful a question of phishing scams sent done substance messages.

Hong Kong constabulary warned users of the scam successful an Oct. 9 station to its Facebook leafage dubbed “CyberDefender.”

“Recently, fraudsters posing arsenic Binance sent substance messages claiming that users indispensable click the nexus successful the connection to verify their individuality details earlier a deadline, different their relationship would beryllium deactivated.”

Beware of scammers. Stay #SAFU! pic.twitter.com/XZMDMKkBJf

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) October 9, 2023

Police said that erstwhile users clicked the nexus and supposedly “verified” their idiosyncratic details, hackers were past capable to summation afloat entree to their Binance accounts, wherever they proceeded to bargain each of the assets contained wrong the users’ wallets.

According to the post, the phishing strategy has seen 11 Hong Kong-based Binance customers study combined losses of much than $446,000 (3.5 cardinal Hong Kong dollars) successful the past 2 weeks.

The constabulary person asked immoderate users who judge that they’ve received a perchance fraudulent connection to log the suspicious messages connected the “fraud prevention” conception of its authoritative website.

Additionally, the constabulary displayed a nexus to a recently published database of verified virtual plus trading platforms, provided by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).

Currently, lone 2 cryptocurrency exchanges — HashKey and OSL — are afloat licensed for retail concern purposes successful Hong Kong.

Related: Hong Kong police, regulator signifier crypto task unit arsenic JPEX saga unfolds

Established successful May, CyberDefender is a task launched by the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force, aimed astatine expanding section citizen’s consciousness of online information risks.

Hong Kong constabulary unveil 'CyberDefender' metaverse level to combat rising integer crimes. https://t.co/xyqa0iWQxf

— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) May 28, 2023

Meanwhile, Hong Kong crypto investors person been deed hard by scams and fraudulent enactment successful caller weeks, with the caller JPEX crypto speech ungraded ballooning to an estimated $180 cardinal successful losses and much than 2,300 Hong Kong-based investors filing complaints with section police.

JPEX was an unlicensed cryptocurrency speech that allegedly lured successful Hong Kong residents with flashy advertizing and “suspiciously” high returns connected its lending products. The speech ratcheted up fees connected withdrawals from its level connected Sept. 15, rendering funds inaccessible to its users.

Following the scandal, which has been described arsenic the largest fiscal fraud ever to deed Hong Kong, the SFC announced that it would publish a database of some afloat licensed and “suspicious” crypto platforms in a bid to combat imaginable fraud.

Collect this nonfiction arsenic an NFT to sphere this infinitesimal successful past and amusement your enactment for autarkic journalism successful the crypto space.

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