A 65-year-old man in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan was tricked into handing over approximately ¥826 million (about $5.26 million) worth of cryptocurrency assets. The method is not sophisticated: the scammer impersonates a police officer, claiming his account is linked to multiple reports, and tells him to “check the assets to prove his innocence.”
Following instructions, he converted all of his deposits and securities into cryptocurrency and transferred them to his own wallet—only to have everything looted within two weeks.
What is truly alarming is the scam path: the fraudsters no longer ask you to transfer money directly. Instead, they first have you “convert your assets into coins and put them into your own wallet,” and then guide you to hand over your private keys or recovery phrase. The more steps they add in the conversion process, the harder it becomes to track the funds.
Anyone who asks you to “convert your assets into coins to prove your innocence,” regardless of what identity they claim, is a scammer.
Following instructions, he converted all of his deposits and securities into cryptocurrency and transferred them to his own wallet—only to have everything looted within two weeks.
What is truly alarming is the scam path: the fraudsters no longer ask you to transfer money directly. Instead, they first have you “convert your assets into coins and put them into your own wallet,” and then guide you to hand over your private keys or recovery phrase. The more steps they add in the conversion process, the harder it becomes to track the funds.
Anyone who asks you to “convert your assets into coins to prove your innocence,” regardless of what identity they claim, is a scammer.