Watch out for These 7 Crypto Platforms: Hong Kong SFC Warns

• Hong Kong’s SFC warns the general public towards seven entities suspected of crypto fraud.
• The scams concerned luring traders with guarantees of excessive returns, then blocking withdrawals.
• SFC stated that traders ought to pay attention to “too-good-to-be-true” alternatives.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Fee (SFC) has issued a warning about seven entities suspected of crypto fraud, underscoring the dangers going through traders within the metropolis’s quickly rising digital asset market.

As per the official discover, these entities have been working beneath names comparable to XTCQT, CEG, BTEPRO, Bitones.org, Yomaex Crypto Market Restricted (Yomaex), Bstor (Bstorest), and Taurusemex.

Notably, Hong Kong, a significant crypto hub in Asia, has attracted each real traders and fraudsters. In keeping with the SFC’s warning, these platforms declare to supply companies associated to crypto buying and selling. Some even use social media and messaging platforms to lure traders to their web sites and get them to register.

After the customers register and begin buying and selling, the actual rip-off pops up. They attempt to withdraw the funds, solely to be flagged with some warning or one other. In some instances, these entities accuse the investor’s account of cash laundering or some criminality, after which deactivate the account. Panic-stricken traders are then made to pay an enormous quantity within the identify of “taxes” for the activation of the account and withdrawal of funds.

Notably, Taurusemex misled traders by stating that their accounts have been registered with the SFC, to hype up a way of false legitimacy to their operations.

The SFC has strongly suggested the general public to be cautious about on-line funding alternatives, including:

“The general public ought to be cautious about too-good-to-be-true funding alternatives and recommendation posted on social media platforms and by way of prompt messaging apps. Traders ought to keep vigilant and watch out for fraud when making funding selections.”

The native police have taken motion towards these entities and blocked their web sites. The SFC had issued related warnings beforehand over numerous suspicious entities, together with HongKongDAO and BitCuped.

Over the previous years, cryptocurrency fraud instances have been rising in Hong Kong. The regional police final 12 months arrested six individuals, together with an internet influencer named Joseph Lam, over a crypto fraud case involving JPEX. The rip-off induced losses of greater than $127.8 million in digital belongings.