Crypto Fraud Scheme: This Woman Lost IDR 14.3 Billion

Fraud on behalf of crypto is increasing. (Photo; Doc. Cryptocyble)

JAKARTA - A 46-year-old housewife in Hong Kong suffered a huge financial loss of 7.1 million Hong Kong dollars (approximately IDR 14.3 billion), after being entangled in a crypto investment scam scheme.

Reported by the South China Morning Post, the victim did not realize that he had been a victim of fraud until a year later, when discussing his investment with family members.

In July 2022, the victim was contacted by a fraudster via Instagram who directed it to a fake crypto trading platform. Together with another gang that pretended to be customer service representatives, they managed to persuade the victim to transfer the 15th investment fund to a different bank account, from 19 August 2022 to 4 March 2023. During that period, no profit was received by the victim.

The inability to withdraw assets and contact fraudsters raises suspicions on the victim. After realizing that he had been cheated, he reported the case to the local police. An investigation conducted by the Western District Detective, Hong Kong, revealed that the fake crypto trading platform was linked to a similar fraud report recorded in the Scameter.

Hong Kong police noted a significant increase in crypto investment fraud cases, in line with the increasing use of digital assets in the region. Last year, financial losses due to crypto investment fraud jumped dramatically by 42.6%, to 3.26 billion Hong Kong dollars (around IDR 51.5 trillion) from HK$926 million in the previous year.

The number of fraud reports also rose sharply to 5,105 cases in 2023 from 1,884 cases in 2022. This case has been investigated by the police. This is a strong warning for investors to be more vigilant and educate themselves about the risks of crypto investment.