After opening a fake Bitcoin margin (arbitrage) trading site, the police have arrested a group of people who tricked investors who were recruited through social networking service (SNS) open chat rooms to steal 2.3 billion won.



The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency's cybercrime investigation division arrested four people, including the general manager A (31), on charges of violating the Act on the Regulation of Fraud and Similar Receiving Behavior, and arrested acquaintance B (32) on the charge of helping Mr. A's escape (escape). It was announced today (26th) that he was booked without detention.



The police also booked nine people, including C (46), who lent a cannon bankbook to A and others, on charges of violating the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.



Mr. A and others are accused of opening a fake bitcoin margin trading site from January 4 to February 8 of this year and receiving a total of 2.3 billion won from 35 people including D (44).



Bitcoin margin trading is a method of earning capital gains by using price fluctuations of virtual assets.



They signed up for fake bitcoin margin trading sites by impersonating investment experts in SNS open chat rooms, and deceived the victims by claiming that they can guarantee principal and earn more than 200%.




In the open chat room, accomplices disguised as investors caught the wind, such as posting fake return data saying, "I made a big profit through an expert."



Victims, mostly office workers or housewives, played a de facto 'single-even game' in which they wagered money on the rise and fall of Bitcoin under the instructions of a manager who pretended to be an expert.



However, it turned out that the investment results posted on the fake site were manipulated by Mr. A and others.



Mr. A and others sometimes distributed a small amount of profits to the victims, but this was a bait to receive a larger investment.



They also demanded an additional deposit, saying that if the victims requested to collect the proceeds, they would have to pay a fee to withdraw it.



The police recovered a total of 2.297 billion won of crime proceeds, including freezing the suspects' deposits.



A police official said, "Due to the nature of cybercrime, the yield can be manipulated."



(Photo=provided by Incheon National Police Agency, Yonhap News)