Hong Kong police force is sounding the alarm following a series of phishing scams that have targeted 11 Hong Kong-based customers of cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The police issued a warning about these scams through their Facebook page, titled “CyberDefender,” on October 9.

According to the police, fraudsters posing as Binance have been sending text messages to users, claiming that they must click on a link within the message to verify their identity details before a specified deadline; otherwise, their Binance accounts will be deactivated. Unfortunately, when users clicked on the link and completed the supposed verification process, hackers gained full access to their Binance accounts, subsequently emptying the wallets of all the digital assets stored within them.

In the last two weeks alone, these phishing attacks have resulted in combined losses exceeding $446,000 (3.5 million Hong Kong dollars) reported by 11 Binance customers based in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong police have urged users who suspect they’ve received fraudulent messages to report them on the “fraud prevention” section of the official police website. Additionally, they provided a link to a newly published list of verified virtual asset trading platforms from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).

Currently, only two cryptocurrency exchanges, HashKey and OSL, are fully licensed for retail investment purposes in Hong Kong. The CyberDefender project, launched by the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force in May, aims to enhance local citizens’ awareness of online security risks.

Hong Kong’s cryptocurrency investors have recently fallen victim to various scams and fraudulent activities. The JPEX crypto exchange scandal, for example, has caused estimated losses of around $180 million, with over 2,300 Hong Kong-based investors filing complaints with the local police. JPEX, an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange, lured investors with enticing advertisements and suspiciously high returns on its lending products. The situation escalated when the exchange increased withdrawal fees on September 15, rendering users’ funds inaccessible.

In response to such incidents, the SFC has announced its intention to publish a list of both fully licensed and “suspicious” crypto platforms to combat potential fraud in the cryptocurrency industry.

The post Hong Kong Police Warn of Binance Phishing Scam appeared first on CryptoShrypto.