Key Points
- Hong Kong authorities have noted an increase in counterfeit banknotes related to cryptocurrency scams.
- The Hong Kong police have seized 3,396 fake notes between January and April 2024, with a total face value of approximately $326,130.
Hong Kong has seen a rise in counterfeit banknotes being circulated due to cryptocurrency scams.
A local report revealed that between January and April 2024, the police confiscated 3,396 fake notes, totaling around $326,130 in face value.
Scams Leading to Counterfeit Currency
Three major cryptocurrency scams were responsible for a significant portion of these counterfeit notes. In one instance, a scammer created a fake cryptocurrency for a cash counter in Tsim Sha Tsui. A woman fell victim to this scam, exchanging HK$1 million in Tether’s USDT stablecoin for counterfeit HK$1,000 notes.
Another individual was robbed of HK$1 million through a similar scam, with the fraudster making off with the victim’s USDT.
According to the report, the police have seized 1,693 “training notes” and 347 low-quality counterfeit bills linked to these scams. Training notes are used to instruct bank staff and closely resemble actual currency.
Three people have been arrested in relation to these scams, and the funds have been seized.
Increased Cryptocurrency Crimes
Earlier this year, the police also seized 3,000 hell banknotes, a safe, and a note-counting machine from a cryptocurrency exchange shop in the same region. Hell banknotes are used in Chinese rituals as offerings to ancestors or deities and closely resemble real currency.
The public has been urged to surrender counterfeit notes to the police or risk being charged with “the offense of passing counterfeit notes.”
There has also been a significant increase in cryptocurrency-related crimes, with cases rising from 2,336 to 3,415 in a year, resulting in a loss of $553 million worth of funds.
These scams usually involve two tactics. In the first, scammers convince victims to transfer funds to their wallets, commonly seen in pig butchering scams. Scammers also reportedly use overseas crypto exchanges, making tracking more difficult.
The second tactic involves leveraging the hype around cryptocurrencies and exploiting the victims’ lack of understanding to defraud them.
This increase in cryptocurrency crimes has led to increased scrutiny. Hong Kong’s securities regulator has established a licensing regime for crypto service providers.
Chinese authorities have also pledged to cooperate with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to combat cyber crimes.
