Hong Kong police bust crypto scam involving fake banknotes

Hong Kong authorities have arrested three men who allegedly defrauded a businessman of HK$3.11 million (approximately US$399,000) worth of cryptocurrencies.

According to a local report, the scammers promised to convert the victim’s cryptocurrency holdings into cash at an attractive rate, but once the funds were transferred, the victim was left holding fake HK$1,000 notes.

The scammers tricked the victim by placing two real banknotes on top of three stacks of bank notes offered in exchange for USDT. The victim was also asked to transfer HK$3.11 million worth of USDT to a wallet controlled by the scammers before being promised payment.

Training notes are used to train bank staff and are very similar to real money. The only distinguishing factor is that three Chinese characters meaning “practice coupon” are printed on them.

These banknotes do not have the watermarks found on the original currency, but if you are not careful, they can easily be confused with the original currency.

According to authorities, the victim asked to inspect the banknotes but was “rejected” by the scammers, who claimed they “had no instructions from the store manager.”

The scam was operating in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong, known for its marketplace. Authorities managed to seize 10,978 counterfeit notes after raiding the scammer’s office.

Authorities have so far arrested those involved on suspicion of obtaining property by deception and possession of counterfeit banknotes. If convicted, the scammers face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for deception and up to 14 years for the production, distribution or passing of counterfeit banknotes.

There have been multiple similar incidents in Hong Kong in recent months. Last month, Hong Kong police seized HK$2.55 million worth of counterfeit notes, worth about $326,130 at the time.

Most of these notes originated from just three cryptocurrency scams involving the same crypto-for-cash scheme. These transactions also involved USDT.

Along with the educational notes, law enforcement also seized hell banknotes, which are fraudulent currencies used as offerings to ancestors or gods in traditional Chinese rituals.