South Korean Police Swoop on Suspected ‘Fake Crypto Mining’ Scammers
South Korean police have raided a suspected “fake crypto mining” operation that pretended to offer investors profits from mining Cardano (ADA) and other tokens, officers in Incheon announced on June 3.
According to Yonhap, police in the city of Incheon arrested a group of 13 people arrested, with seven held in custody on “organized crime” charges. The remaining six were released on police bail.
Police at the Incheon Central Police Station in the Jung-gu District presented evidence obtained from the raids. These included mobile phones, laptop computers, and bundles of cash.
Officers said the group promised “victims” they could make “big profits” by investing in crypto mining “machines.”
They said the group duped investors out of around $518,000. The group was allegedly masterminded by two individuals, both aged 29.
Police said the group tricked 69 people aged “in their 30s to 60s” and operated from February 14 to March 4 this year.
This duo appears to have created a “call center” that contacted people using a darkweb “personal information database.”
The group, police said, appears to have bought the data from a Telegram-based vendor, paying its vendors in Bitcoin (BTC).
This database appears to have contained the names of crypto-keen citizens. The “call center” employees rang the citizens, telling them they were eligible for a “VIP promotional offer.”
The employees, police said, told the alleged victims they could buy crypto mining rigs “at a low price.”
The operators appear to have told investors they could buy machines that they could pay a “company” to operate remotely on their behalf.
Higher stakes, they told investors, would result in higher hashrates and more “guaranteed” profits.
Police released photos of what appear to be
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