Malaysian police arrest 21 in crypto fraud scheme targeting Japanese investors

Malaysian authorities have dismantled a major cryptocurrency fraud scheme targeting Japanese citizens.

According to local reports, the Royal Malaysian Police, also known as PDRM, arrested 21 people in connection with the scam during coordinated raids on two luxury homes in Kuala Lumpur on August 19.

The suspects reportedly include 16 Chinese citizens, a Lao woman, a Hong Kong citizen, a Myanmar man and a Malaysian.

Fraud scheme involving convincing victims to invest in fake crypto opportunities via popular dating platforms like Tinder and Monsters. Reports confirm that perpetrators are directing targets to invest using scam apps like Bitbank and CoinCheck.

Moreover, the operation, which has been active for about a month, was carefully concealed. According to police, the scammers operated from bungalows in remote areas protected by high fences to avoid detection by law enforcement.

During the raids, police seized 55 phones, 17 computers and various electronic devices used in fraud operations.

Following the arrests, the local suspect was granted police bail when his remand in custody expired on August 25. The other 20 people remain in custody. Authorities are investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which deals with fraud and deception.

The exact amount of assets lost by this group has not yet been reported.

Data shows that phishing scammers stole $314 million in the first half of 2024 alone. Belgium’s FSMA confirmed that crypto-related scams accounted for 50% of all fraudulent activity in the first half of this year.

Last week, Philippine authorities arrested 99 people in connection with crypto and romance scams.

Notably, Asia isn’t the only region experiencing rising scams. According to a crypto.news report, Australians lost more than $120 million to crypto scams last year. This increase in scam schemes has led to increased scrutiny from authorities. Australian authorities have shut down 615 crypto scam websites in one year.