Hong Kong police have arrested three workers at a currency exchange shop after a customer was allegedly shown stacks of hell money before transferring about HK$1 million (US$128,010) worth of cryptocurrency. <\/p>\n
The forces technology crime division on Wednesday arrested three men, aged between 31 and 34, on suspicion of obtaining property by deception and confiscated 3,000 hell banknotes, a safe and a note counting machine at a shop in Tsim Sha Tsui. <\/p>\n
Hell banknotes are a form of ceremonial paper money that is burned as an offering to ancestors or deities in traditional Chinese culture. <\/p>\n
Police said they received a report from a 35-year-old man on April 12 who alleged he had been unable to retrieve cash after selling about HK$1 million worth of the digital currency Tether, or USDT, at a shop in Tsim Sha Tsui that day. <\/p>\n
An investigation found that the suspects allegedly showed the victim stacks of hell banknotes with a face value of HK$500 and persuaded him to transfer about HK$1 million worth of USDT to a cryptocurrency wallet provided by them. <\/p>\n
After they took possession of the virtual currency, the suspects made several excuses, declined to hand over cash as agreed and left the scene. <\/p>\n
Anyone convicted of fraud in Hong Kong is liable to up to 14 years imprisonment. <\/p>\n
Those convicted of obtaining property by deception face 10 years behind bars. <\/p>\n
Police appealed to the public to choose reputable cryptocurrency exchanges for their transactions and to carefully inspect banknotes for security features. <\/p>\n
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See more here: Hong Kong police have arrested three workers at a currency exchange shop after a customer was allegedly shown stacks of hell money before transferring about HK$1 million (US$128,010) worth of cryptocurrency. The forces technology crime division on Wednesday arrested three men, aged between 31 and 34, on suspicion of obtaining property by deception and confiscated 3,000 hell banknotes, a safe and a note counting machine at a shop in Tsim Sha Tsui. Continue reading
\nCrypto customer scammed in alleged HK$1 million hell money scheme in Hong Kong - South China Morning Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"