USB Stick With Ethereum Worth $9.5 Million Seized by UK Police

A bold scam has been foiled with the arrest of two shysters who ran a dodgy website and managed to con millions of dollars from victims around the world before trying to run off with the money in classic rug-pull style.

Thanks to the Economic Crime Unit of the Greater Manchester Police in the UK, a 23-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were tracked down and arrested for fraud and money laundering. Police also confiscated a USB stick containing US$9.5 million worth of Ethereum. A few days later policed located a cryptograph safety deposit box and the code to access it, confiscating a further $12.7 million. In total, $22.25 million was seized from the scammers.

Some Victims Lost Their Life Savings

The scam fooled investors to believe that they were depositing their money into an online saving and trading service using Binance Smart Chain. The criminals targeted people from the UK, US, Europe, China, Australia and Hong Kong. After collecting a small fortune, which included the life savings of some victims, the scammers swiftly shut down the website and transferred the money to their own accounts. Police are now attempting to contact victims and return the stolen funds.

Scams are ever-present in the crypto landscape and opportunistic criminals are rife. Buyers beware: always do your homework when investing online and make sure to minimise the risk of being scammed by only investing in projects that are safe and reputable. For more, read the Crypto News Australia guide on how to avoid crypto scams.