In Person Filecoin Fraud in Hong Kong

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In June of 2021, a man in Hong Kong thought he bought some filecoin, however the people he bought it from were unknown individuals who later couldn't be found, and hadn't actually sold him any filecoin. It's unclear if the thieves were caught and it does not appear that any funds were returned.

This exchange or platform is based in Hong Kong, or the incident targeted people primarily in Hong Kong.

About None

"In a separate incident occurring in June 2021, a man was cheated out of HK$124M by two men and a woman promising enormous returns for an investment in a cryptocurrency called Filecoin." The "case involved [a] businessman who police said met three fraudsters posing as investment consultants through a friend. He was lured into investing in Filecoin and promised considerable profits."

"In the case of the 30-year-old merchant who lost HK$124 million, the victim was approached by two men and a woman in their 30s introducing themselves as investment consultants. They recommended investing in Filecoin on the basis it would deliver big returns, Superintendent Wilson Fan Chun-yi said."

"Between February and April, he deposited HK$124 million into the fraudsters' bank accounts in two installments." "The victim handed over money in two instalments in February and April."

"When the victim discovered that he could not withdraw his funds following a crash in the price of Filecoin and the so-called investors were nowhere to be found, he alerted authorities."

"In June, he tried to cash out after Filecoin's value dropped from US$168 (HK$1,310) to US$73, but the fraudsters disappeared." "Filecoin’s share price dropped from US$168 to US$73, prompting the victim in June to try and withdraw the cash. But the merchant could not contact the group and sought help from police."

"“Citizens should think twice about whether the person asking them to make an investment is trustworthy, or whether meetup places for large transactions are safe,” Ip said.

This exchange or platform is based in Hong Kong, or the incident targeted people primarily in Hong Kong.

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 - In Person Filecoin Fraud in Hong Kong

Date	Event	Description
June 15th, 2021 12:00:00 AM	Main Event	Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost has been estimated at $15,900,000 USD.

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?

Prevention Policies

The primary failure was that no actual cryptocurrency was delivered by the anonymous "investors". This type of fraud could be solved with any sort of registry for the different platforms available.