Some nations worldwide suffered greater monetary losses to cryptocurrency scams regardless of a large bear market in 2022.
Losses from crypto scams in Hong Kong amounted to 1.7 billion Hong Kong {dollars} ($216.6 million) final 12 months — surging 106% from a 12 months earlier than — in keeping with native police.
The variety of crypto-related scams reported in Hong Kong in 2022 equaled 2,336 instances, surging 67% from 1,397 instances recorded by police in 2021, the South China Morning Submit (SCMP) reported.
Hong Kong scams involving crypto accounted for greater than 50% of the three.2 billion HK$ ($407 million) stolen from metropolis residents in expertise crimes, in keeping with the official knowledge from the Hong Kong police CyberDefender web site. Within the earlier 4 years, on-line scammers bagged an analogous amount of cash or about 3 billion HK$ yearly.
The had been virtually 23,000 reported instances of technology-related crimes in 2022.
Based on SCMP sources, police witnessed a rise in the usage of cryptocurrency as a medium for on-line scams, with fraudsters with the ability to disguise their identities, transaction move and ultimate vacation spot. One insider reportedly mentioned that crypto use in on-line crimes has made monitoring felony funds extra difficult for enforcement.
The Hong Kong police pressure’s cybersecurity and expertise crime bureau additionally shared some observations a couple of typical crypto-related scammer, describing such perpetrators as pretending to be extremely skilled in investing in crypto belongings, valuable metals or overseas change merchandise. Such individuals usually lure victims into putting in fraudulent funding functions displaying faux transactions and returns, police said.
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The report comes amid the federal government of Hong Kong changing into more and more engaged with the event of cryptocurrency infrastructure, distinguishing its crypto regulation method from China’s blanket crypto ban enforced in 2021. In February, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Fee known as for public suggestions on the newly proposed licensing regime for crypto exchanges set to take impact from June 2023.
