BitBuy Korea Exit Scam

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BitBuy Korea launched a platform using similar branding to BitBuy (an exchange in Canada), and offering 500x leverage. The company was unregistered in South Korea and the website later closed down without providing depositors back their funds.

This exchange or platform is based in South Korea, or the incident targeted people primarily in South Korea.

About BitBuy Korea

"An unaffiliated South Korean organization has, under the false guise of being “Bit Buy Korea,” exit scammed users after promising high returns on investment and leveraging." The scam exchange is, “not a registered corporation with the [Korean] registry office.” The "domestic futures exchange is attracting customers with leverage of 'up to 500 times '."

"Bitbuy Korea wrote down the name of the account holder, bank, and account number right away when registering as a member. In the process, there was no procedure such as account verification. After signing up, you could easily change your deposit account by simply verifying your mobile phone number."

A YouTuber introducing BitBy Korea by explaining "If you invest in Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency exchange pays interest, which is called funding fee or staking interest."

"However, funding fee and staking (deposit) interest are different concepts. Staking, like a deposit or savings account, pays interest to users who entrust their cryptocurrency to the blockchain network."

"In contrast, the funding fee is a system to match the short (long) and short (short) ratios. If the position attracts users, it means that you have to pay a 0.5% funding fee to the exchange."

"At the end of April, Bit Buy Korea left a notice as if it was related to BitBuy, saying, 'For inquiries about the Canadian headquarters, please contact us at the Canada-only phone number.'"

"Bitbuy.ca tweeted from its official twitter explaining that there is no affiliation with the scam exchange, and that the use of the official Bitbuy logo is unauthorized."

Afterwards, Bitbuy Korea changed the logo saying, "The use of the logo has not been negotiated." Regarding the controversy, an official from Bit Buy Korea said, "I signed a contract with one of Bit Buy's affiliates, not Bit Buy's headquarters.".

"BITBUY KOREA, allegedly swindled money from hundreds of victims by luring investors into sending money to the exchange, then closing down the site." "Over 670 victims are planning to file a complaint with the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutor's Office soon."

This exchange or platform is based in South Korea, or the incident targeted people primarily in South Korea.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

• Known history of when and how the service was started.
• What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
• What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
• Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
• Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
• How were people recruited to participate?
• Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:

• Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
• Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.

There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

The Reality

This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

• When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
• Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
• How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
• Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

What Happened

The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.

Key Event Timeline - BitBuy Korea Exit Scam

Date	Event	Description
May 3rd, 2021	Main Event	Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.

Technical Details

This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost is unknown.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

Immediate Reactions

How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?

Ultimate Outcome

What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

Ongoing Developments

What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

General Prevention Policies

A reasonable lightweight framework would mean that the vast majority of firms were registered, and investors could expect registration.

Individual Prevention Policies

No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.