Hong Kong Crypto Scam Bust: Police Seize Nearly 11,000 Counterfeit Banknotes

Published: Jul 15, 2024
Written By:
Vignesh Karunanidhi
Milk Road Writer

Hong Kong authorities have uncovered a scam involving millions in crypto and thousands of fake banknotes.Ā Ā 

Key points:

  • Three suspects were arrested for defrauding a businessman of HK$3.11 million in Tether.
  • Police seized 10,978 counterfeit HK$1,000 notes in a Mong Kok office raid.
  • The fake notes were “training notes” commonly used in mainland Chinese banks.
  • This seizure surpasses the total number of forged HK$1,000 notes found in all of 2023.

According to SCMP, Hong Kong authorities have arrested three individuals suspected of running a sophisticated scam. The operation came to light following a police raid in Mong Kok.

Also read: Hong Kong Shares List Of 7 Suspicious Crypto Exchanges

Busted crypto scam involved USDT exchange

The scam involved the exchange of USDT and turned out to be a massive cache of counterfeit Hong Kong dollars.

The arrests stem from an incident where a 44-year-old businessman was allegedly swindled out of HK$3.11 million (approximately US$399,000) worth of USDT.

The victim was lured to an office under the pretense of exchanging his crypto for cash at an attractive rate. There, he was presented with what appeared to be bundles of genuine HK$1,000 notes.

Upon investigating the Mong Kok office, police seized10,978 forged HK$1,000 banknotes. These were identified as “training notes,” typically used for practice in mainland Chinese banks.

Also read: Crypto Funds See $1.44B Inflows As Bitcoin Reclaims $62,000

While visually similar to genuine currency, these notes lack critical security features and are marked with Chinese characters.

The number of fake notes seized in this single raid exceeds the total counterfeit HK$1,000 bills discovered throughout Hong Kong in the entire previous year. 

Authorities revealed that this incident is not isolated. Similar cases involving cryptocurrency transactions and counterfeit notes have been reported in recent months. It involved over 1,600 “training notes” seized in separate incidents between January and April of this year.

Vignesh Karunanidhi

Vignesh has been a seasoned professional in the crypto space since 2017. He has been writing for over 6 years and specializes in writing and editing various types of crypto content, including news articles, long-form pieces, and blog posts, all focused on sharing the beauty of blockchain and crypto.

Vignesh Karunanidhi
Milk Road Writer
Vignesh has been a seasoned professional in the crypto space since 2017. He has been writing for over 6 years and specializes in writing and editing various types of crypto content, including news articles, long-form pieces, and blog posts, all focused on sharing the beauty of blockchain and crypto.