TL;DR Breakdown:
- A female crypto trader in Hong Kong lost over $450K to robbers after a transaction with a buyer.
- Another trader had faced a similar situation earlier this month.
A report today by AsiaOne reminds us why person-to-person crypto transactions of large amounts can be risky. A female crypto trader was recently robbed of over $450,000 (HK$3.5 million) after selling Tether (USDT), a US dollar-backed stablecoin, to a regular buyer on the street. Investigations are ongoing to uncover the thieves; however, no arrest has been made so far. This made up the second time where a crypto trader was robbed this month.
Hong Kong crypto trader robbed at knifepoint
According to the report, the Hong Kong crypto trader met a man willing to buy the stablecoins in the street in Kwun Tong. Recently, she had traded some cryptocurrencies to the same person for cash, worth about $77,395 (HK$600,000) and $90,295 (HK$700,000) in separate trades. However, the last trade, which involved a higher amount, ended badly as she was lured to an office by a gang of thieves and robbed shortly after the she received the cash from the buyer.
The thieves stole the whole money and her iPhone, from where she transferred the USDTs to the buyer, according to the police. She managed to call her husband using her second phone, after which the police were alerted. The local police are currently searching for the criminals, although no suspect has been arrested so far. The development underscores the safety crypto exchanges bring to users, regardless of the transaction fees.
Another Korean crypto trader loses Bitcoin to robbers
Earlier this month, another 37-year-old crypto trader in Korea faced a similar situation, where he lost about $387,005 (HK$3 million) worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to criminals. They kicked him out from a bus after he transferred about 15 BTC to them. Noteworthily, the man also had a previous transaction record with two of the people who robbed him, per the report.
