Vietnamese police foil $1M crypto rip-off, defend 300 potential victims

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The Hanoi Metropolis Police Division in Vietnam prevented 300 potential victims from investing in an elaborate crypto rip-off that had already defrauded 30 billion Vietnamese dong ($1.17 million) from about 100 companies and 400 people.

Hanoi police apprehended people related to Million Smiles, an organization that orchestrated an unlawful and fraudulent crypto funding scheme concentrating on Vietnamese residents, according to VTV, the nationwide tv broadcaster of Vietnam.

Million Smiles promoted an in-house cryptocurrency, QFS, or Quantum Monetary System, utilizing misleading promoting that linked it to ancestral treasures and religious claims.

Along with promising unrealistic returns, the corporate falsely claimed that proudly owning QFS would permit people and companies to entry a monetary ecosystem with advantages like funding with out collateral or curiosity.

Foiling the flowery crypto rip-off

Regulation enforcement reportedly initially intercepted Million Smiles’ plan to host a gathering with 300 clients to additional promote QFS. The fraudsters would pursue people to speculate roughly 4–5 million dong (roughly $190) and as much as 39 million dong ($1,350) for companies in such conferences. 

Asia, Vietnam, Police, Scams

Hanoi metropolis police division raided Million Smiles headquarters. Supply: VTV

Police raided the corporate’s headquarters, confiscating paperwork, computer systems and different supplies. Subsequent investigations revealed that the QFS token was fictitious and never acknowledged beneath Vietnamese legislation.

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Vietnam shouldn’t be a secure haven for crypto fraud

The Vietnamese authorities have a robust monitor file of crypto crackdowns. In October, a provincial Vietnam police drive arrested 5 people related to an elaborate crypto scam network led by off-shore bad actors.

On Oct. 4, police from Nghe An, a Vietnamese province bordering Laos and the Gulf of Tonkin, dismantled a Laos-based rip-off ring linked to fraudulent wire transfers. The scammers have been led by off-shore people specializing in pig-butchering and crypto funding scams.

Members of the Vietnamese crypto rip-off ring. Supply: Thanh Nien

One of many scammers, who posed as a girl, gained the belief of a person from Ho Chi Minh Metropolis. The sufferer was ultimately deceived into investing in “Biconomynft,” a faux app that promised exorbitant returns. Over a number of months, the scammer stole greater than 17.6 billion dong ($700,000) from the sufferer.

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