Local police in Malaysia have arrested about 14 Chinese indigenes over supposed crypto-related scams. They reportedly operated a fake cryptocurrency investment platform, wherein the lure in victims using false testimonies.
The arrest was made on the 18th of April at Iskandar Puteri, which is close to Singapore. This is coming after the authorities had carefully surveyed the group over the past weeks. According to Dzulkhairi Mukhtar, the Assistant Commander explained that the perpetrators aged between 20 to 30.
Scammers utilizing message apps
Per the report, the suspects reached out to their potential victims through a group chat on popular messaging applications, including QQ and WeChat. In addition to presenting fake documents to trick their victims, they also impersonated famous Investors to lure victims into investing.
According to Mukhtar, one of the suspects is usually presented as a successful mentor or Investor to a potential victim, while others play as casual investors, who would then give their false testimonies. This activity has been going on for almost two months.
Although the operation had been monitored for several weeks, Dzulkhairi went on to say that the total number of people who fell for the crypto-related scams, including the total value victims’ money scammed, remains unknown.
Following the nature of the illicit operation conducted by Chinese men, they are likely to face a jail term of about ten years, including a fine. This is after they are found guilty of the alleged case.
Notably, crypto-related scams are a huge bug for the young and maturing industry. With the impersonation of prominent people, these illicit activities are one of the reasons many Investors want to stay away from cryptocurrencies.
Recently, a group of fraudsters impersonated as Sussex’s Duke and Duchess to trick people into investing in a suspicious program dubbed Bitcoin Evolution. A thorough survey on the platform showed it was more of a scam.
