JAKARTA - Cryptocurrency investment scams are increasingly occurring in various parts of the world, including in Egypt. This can be seen from the case of the arrest of 29 people suspected of being the mastermind behind Hangpool investment fraud. Egyptian police reported that these masterminds had deceived investors by offering promises of unrealistic return of investment.
According to a report published, a number of evidences such as 95 cell phones and 3,367 SIM cards and money worth US$194,000 (around Rp2.9 billion) were confiscated during the arrest.
Police also found that fraudsters used a total of 88 digital currency wallets to receive funds from investors. It was reported that the fraudsters then shared the funds between 9,965 digital wallets and converted funds into Bitcoins before being taken abroad.
Although the police stated that the amount of funds that were successfully deceived reached US$615,000 (approximately Rp9.5 billion), some estimate that the figure is much higher. A lawyer representing more than a thousand victims in Cairo, Abdulaziz Hussein, even said that nearly 800,000 people may have been victims of the Hangpool scam.
Although the use and trading of cryptocurrencies is prohibited in Egypt, hoggpool scammers managed to attract victims by promising high and unrealistic returns of investment. Some of the investment options offered include an initial investment of 10 US dollars (Rp153 thousand) with a daily payment of US$1 (Rp15,365) to an investment of 800 US dollars (Rp12,292,000) to buy mining machines that pay US$55 (Rp845 thousand) per day.
In addition to the high investment return promise, the fraudsters also used fake documents to withdraw the suspicious victim. One of these documents is a certificate of correctness of the whereabouts allegedly issued toggpool by the Colorado State Secretary's Office in the United States. This fake document gives the impression of legitimacy on the scam and keeps many people stuck in the investment.
Of course, these fraudsters are criminal acts and violate the law in Egypt. Police must take firm action and impose fair sanctions on fraudsters so that no more people become victims of this kind of fraud. In addition, it is important for investors to always be careful in investing, especially investing in cryptocurrencies, and not being trapped in unreasonable investment returns promises.
In this Hoggpool fraud case, many people have become victims and suffered heavy losses. Therefore, the government and financial institutions need to increase public awareness about the high risk of investment and the dangers of fraud. This can be done through campaigns and educational programs, so that people are more informed and not easily trapped in this kind of investment fraud.
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