A week into 2025, police authorities from various jurisdictions have independently apprehended fraudsters running varied cryptocurrency-related schemes targeting hundreds of potential victims.
On Jan. 5, Vietnamese police arrested four individuals involved in a cryptocurrency mining scam that stole 4 billion Vietnamese dong ($157,300) from more than 200 victims, according to the newspaper, VnExpress.
The suspects, led by Tran Minh Quang, allegedly developed a fraudulent crypto-mining website called BitMiner, registered with a Singapore domain. The group advertised itself as a Dubai-based crypto-mining company and offered unrealistic returns on investments.
Tran Minh Quang (left) arrested for crypto mining scam. Source: VnExpress
According to the report, the victims were sold dubious crypto-mining packages and related educational materials.
Related: Vietnamese police foil $1M crypto scam, protect 300 potential victims
The police department of Springfield, Massachusetts, in the United States, recently alerted citizens against an uptick in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrency-related scams. While noting that scammers use a variety of techniques, the warning singled out crypto ATM scams:
“The scams have many different variations, but one in particular directs a person to a cryptocurrency machine to insert and send money to the scammer. If you receive a phone call with someone demanding a payment in cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, please hang up.”
Springfield police department issues scam warning crypto ATMs. Source: Springfield PD
In addition to crypto scams, authorities are also actively cracking down on artificial intelligence-related crimes involving deepfakes.
On Jan. 5, Hong Kong police arrested a group of 31 scammers — mostly university students — who defrauded victims of different countries and stole 34 million Hong Kong dollars ($4.37 million) using AI deepfakes.
According to a Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) report, the syndicate had been operating for more than a year, and the victims were mainly from outside of Hong Kong, such as Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States.
Deepfake images generated by AI used by Hong Kong scammers. Source: RTHK
A translated version of a statement from Fung Pui-kei, superintendent of the Commercial Crime Bureau, read:
“They (scammers) also make use of the new technology, like AI face-swapping technology, to [pretend] to be some good-looking ladies and gentlemen to induce potential victims, gain their trust and develop into romance relationships in order to commence the romance scams.”
Hong Kong authorities raided two locations and seized 10 million Hong Kong dollars worth of cash, handbags and luxury watches.
While five criminals were charged with conspiracy to defraud, others were released on bail.
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