A single woman in her 50s surnamed Guo in Taichung City, Taiwan, fell victim to a double scam. At the end of last year, she was first caught in an investment fraud, losing 400,000 yuan. Hoping to recover the lost amount, Guo searched for a solution online, only to fall into another trap set by another scamming group. This type of scam, which falsely claims to be able to recover lost coins, is not uncommon and once again causes innocent victims of virtual currency scams to suffer losses.
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First-time fraud of 400,000 yuan, unable to catch the culprit..
“Can help you recover the coins” falls for it again
Scam technique: Pretending to provide legal assistance and hacker skills
Scammed again for 600,000 NTD due to romance scam
Police: Helplessness exploited in virtual currency scams
“Seeking help through legitimate channels?” Virtual currency crimes are almost unsolvable
Guo’s initial tragedy began with an investment scam, resulting in her losing 400,000 NTD. Although she reported the case to the police, the scammer was not caught, making her more eager to recover the lost amount.
In her search for a solution, an advertisement on Facebook caught her attention. It was from a group called “Taiwan Anti-Fraud Organization” claiming to be able to use hacking techniques to recover defrauded amounts. The woman was attracted by the advertisement and unfortunately fell for it again, losing even more money.
The so-called anti-fraud organization used a fake lawyer claiming to be from the “Taiwan Public Interest Legal Aid Organization” to propose a seemingly reasonable but completely false solution to Guo. They claimed that the money Guo was defrauded of had flowed into a gambling website called “Eternal Entertainment City” and suggested making another remittance to implant a program that would “create platform odds loopholes” to recover the losses.
Guo firmly believed and followed their instructions, remitting a total of 500,000 NTD worth of Tether (USDT) and 100,000 NTD in cash as a guarantee. During the process, she was even deceived by the scammer’s charm, thinking she had found true love online. Finally, when she realized she had been scammed again and both the person and the money were gone, she quickly reported the case to the Taichung police.
The Taichung City Police Criminal Investigation Brigade revealed that the scam group extensively advertised on social platforms. This new type of scam, which claims to help victims recover their losses, exploits people’s helplessness. The police reminded the public to be cautious when encountering fraud and not easily believe unverified recovery service promises, and to seek help through legitimate channels.
This incident not only highlights the ever-changing and sophisticated nature of fraud techniques but also reminds the public of the need to further enhance their vigilance towards online information. In the face of fraud, maintaining alertness and making cautious choices are important abilities that everyone should cultivate.
Although cryptocurrency transactions are transparent, once they fall into self-hosted wallets or overseas non-mainstream exchanges, they are completely beyond regulatory control.
Although there are sporadic cases of solving or recovering losses, it is very difficult to attract attention if the amount of damage is not high.
From the current cases of cryptocurrency scams in Taiwan, almost all of them involve scam groups collaborating with cryptocurrency exchanges, using the “emotional + investment” fraud technique to convince victims unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies to exchange cash for USDT, which is then transferred to wallets that are not subject to regulatory oversight.
Most victims believe that law enforcement agencies can recover or find the suspects. In fact, once it involves cross-border crimes, the anonymity of cryptocurrencies is very high, and the flow of funds can quickly hide through various channels. Unless cryptocurrency flows into mainstream exchanges and has a chance to be frozen in cooperation with law enforcement, it is almost impossible to recover.
Internet scams using the psychology of “hope for recovery” and tricking victims with various fees pose a threat to those who do not understand the world of virtual currencies.
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Anti-Fraud Organization
Fraud
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