Hong Kong authorities have alerted the public about a Binance phishing scam that has affected local users. The city’s police force highlighted that 11 Binance users in Hong Kong fell victim to phishing texts.
In a recent “CyberDefender” post on Facebook, the Hong Kong police stated, “Fraudsters, pretending to be Binance, sent texts urging users to click a link to confirm their identity before a set deadline, or their account would be suspended.” Those who clicked the link and entered their details found hackers taking over their Binance accounts and emptying their wallets.
The scam has resulted in reported losses exceeding $446,000 (3.5 million Hong Kong dollars) over the past fortnight.
Authorities have urged individuals who suspect they’ve received scam messages to report them on the police’s official website’s “fraud prevention” section. The police also shared a link to a list of approved virtual asset trading platforms from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
At present, only HashKey and OSL have the necessary licenses for retail crypto trading in Hong Kong. The “CyberDefender” initiative, introduced in May by the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force, aims to educate the public about online threats.
In related news, Hong Kong’s crypto community has recently been impacted by scams, notably the JPEX crypto exchange incident, which resulted in an estimated $180 million loss. Over 2,300 local investors have lodged complaints against JPEX, an unregulated exchange that attracted users with enticing ads and high returns. However, the platform increased its withdrawal fees on September 15, making users’ funds unreachable.
In light of this significant fraud event, the SFC plans to release a list of both licensed and “questionable” crypto platforms to help prevent potential scams.
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Source: https://bit.ly/3ZNyNE6
