In a heroic case of solving a cryptocurrency case, the UK police have returned over $5 Million to victims of an international crypto scam. The Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said in a statement that they’ve returned 23 verified victims of their ‘scammed’ crypto amount.
The GMP confirmed that over 127 claims from around the world are currently pending. The force stated that post-investigation and verification, they would return their ‘hacked’ amount to the rightful users’ wallets.
How Did the International Crypto Scam Racket Operate?
The scamsters created a similar-looking trading website that reflects Binance. The gullible investors believed the site to be authentic. Investors deposited their money into what they thought was an online savings and trading account. The scammers shut down the website after a batch of users deposited a significant amount into the account.
The scamsters then transferred the amount to their bank account. They re-operated again for the batch of next victims. Moreover, the thieves didn’t disappear after siphoning the money. Instead, they repeated the feat several times.
The UK police received a tip that the scammers are operating in Manchester for a limited period. They tracked down the scammers through I.P addresses. The police raided their operational space.
The GMP has recovered a USB stick. It contains close to $9.5 million in stolen Ethereum. An additional $12.7 million in ETH was found a few days later, stored in a “cryptograph safety deposit box.”
A 23-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were arrested in connection to this crypto fraud. The police are on the lookout for several others involved. The investigation is still pending.
“This type of crime is increasing across the globe. Criminals are getting savvier by finding ways to exploit the trend, in ways even the most experienced users can’t anticipate. The Economic and Cyber Crime Unit are working on a daily basis to tackle this growing number of cases in the digital and online world,” said Detective Chief Inspector Joe Harrop.
“The scammers operating the service waited until a significant amount of money had been deposited, before shutting down their website and transferring the funds into their accounts. Unfortunately for them, the scammers did not disappear without a trace,” he said.