Briefly
- Police seized greater than 9,000 counterfeit Korean received payments linked to in-person crypto trades.
- Three males had been arrested final 12 months and two have been indicted.
- Comparable counterfeit-cash crypto scams have additionally occurred in Hong Kong.
Police in South Chungcheong province are investigating a prison group accused of producing counterfeit Korean received payments and utilizing them to defraud cryptocurrency merchants throughout in-person transactions.
Based on Chosun Ilbo, the group was present in possession of 9,188 pretend 50,000-won notes, with a price of about 459.4 million received ($330,000), final 12 months. Investigators stated the suspects printed the payments utilizing a shade printer and contacted crypto merchants on-line to rearrange face-to-face exchanges of money for digital property.
The scheme unraveled when a potential sufferer seen the poor high quality of the notes throughout a gathering in Asan Metropolis and refused to finish the transaction, as an alternative alerting police.
The usage of counterfeit money in crypto transactions shouldn’t be new. Such scams exploit the velocity and informality of face-to-face trades, the place massive sums of cash can change fingers shortly and verification of banknotes could also be restricted. Hong Kong, specifically, noticed a wave of comparable circumstances final summer season, displaying how counterfeit foreign money has turn into a recurring danger in over-the-counter crypto markets.
In a single Hong Kong case in July 2024, police arrested three individuals accused of defrauding a businessman of $400,000 in USDT in Mong Kok, a preferred business district. Officers seized greater than 11,000 counterfeit banknotes in that raid, exceeding the entire variety of pretend notes confiscated in Hong Kong throughout your entire earlier 12 months.
Two months earlier, police in the identical space arrested three cryptocurrency change employees members for allegedly conning a buyer out of HK$128,000 ($16,000) in a USDT-for-cash transaction. The suspects used “hell cash,” pretend notes printed on joss paper historically burned in rituals which are simply accessible at retailers in Hong Kong, to deceive the sufferer.
Within the South Korea case, three males of their 30s and 40s, recognized solely as Mr. A, Mr. B and Mr. C, had been arrested in reference to the scheme. Police arrested Mr. A and Mr. C final October and November, whereas Mr. B fled to Cambodia. An Interpol crimson discover was issued for his arrest and he was detained upon reentering South Korea by way of Incheon Airport from China on Nov. 5 this 12 months.
Investigators stated the suspects claimed they dedicated the crimes to cowl dwelling bills whereas unemployed.
Mr. A and Mr. B have been indicted, whereas Mr. C stays below investigation after a bench warrant was initially rejected. Police stated they plan to reapply as soon as supplementary investigations are full.
The officers concerned within the case obtained an award for stopping the unfold of counterfeit money from the Financial institution of Korea on Friday. The central financial institution, which presents the prizes twice a 12 months, stated the group made a major contribution to apprehending counterfeiters.
In an announcement, the financial institution urged the general public to examine money fastidiously in well-lit areas, examine hologram motion whereas counting payments, and report suspected counterfeit cash instantly. It additionally pointed to its revamped counterfeit cash detection app as a device for verifying banknotes.
The case comes amid a broader rise in crimes linked to in-person interactions. Over the previous 12 months, authorities and safety consultants have warned about a rise in so-called “wrench assaults,” that are bodily assaults geared toward forcing victims to unlock crypto wallets or switch funds.
Jameson Lopp, chief expertise officer of crypto safety agency Casa, has documented not less than 66 bodily crypto-related assaults in 2025 to date, together with kidnappings and residential invasions concentrating on buyers, influencers and even their relations.
