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My Take | As Asian cryptocurrency scams spike, investor education is key to combating menace
- Online scam syndicates are growing exponentially as more investors fall for get-rich-quick traps amid surging prices of cryptocurrencies
- Asian regulators can help safeguard investments in digital currencies by raising awareness of online scammers and their modus operandi
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Asia is facing a new cycle of criminality centring around online scams that have ensnared countless victims as losses continue to mount in the billions.
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These criminal networks have proliferated in strife-torn Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines and elsewhere in the region. Their tentacles appear to be growing and targeting inexperienced investors who fall for get-rich-quick traps, particularly in cryptocurrencies.
Soaring prices of bitcoin, the most well-known digital currency, have raised concerns that more people will be lured into the dark web spun by scammers.
After hitting a record high of US$73,000 last week, the price of bitcoin declined to US$67,197 on Thursday evening (Hong Kong time), which was more than double from US$28,000 a year ago.
As a new generation of investors cheers the revival of bitcoin, many of them could become victims of scams conjured by burgeoning criminal networks that enlist more recruits to dupe unsuspecting investors.
The billion-dollar industry often targets individuals who are tricked into working at huge scam centres where, through violence and intimidation, they are forced to defraud legions of investors. Illegal cryptocurrency platforms are invariably used to swindle victims, experts say.
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