A 24-year-old Dutch law student from Hengelo, Netherlands, has been arrested following allegations of running crypto scams that defrauded approximately 300 people out of €4.5 million ($4.6 million).
The arrest came after a foundation representing the victims provided new evidence to authorities.
The Bull Market is Driving Crypto Scams and Frauds
The student, who had been on the run since his trading scheme collapsed last year, initially sought police protection after being harassed by investors. Police relocated him to a secure location.
However, investigators have since uncovered accusations that he continued to attract new investors even as his scheme neared failure.
Victims claim the law student operated a Ponzi scheme, using funds from new investors to pay earlier participants. He reportedly required a minimum investment of €5,000 and took 50% of the profits as a fee.
Legal experts have raised concerns about the scale of the alleged fraud, which remains under active investigation.
Fraud and hacks in the cryptocurrency industry reached alarming levels in 2024. Losses totaled $2.3 billion, an increase of 40% compared to the previous year.
Most concerningly, scammers are taking full advantage of the growing number of new investors drawn in by the bull market.
Several significant crypto scams have surfaced in recent months. For instance, the release of Netflix’s second season of Squid Game spurred the creation of fraudulent tokens referencing the show.
Blockchain security firm PeckShield quickly flagged these tokens as scams, warning the public.
During the holiday season, hackers targeted users of Ledger, a popular cryptocurrency hardware wallet. Hundreds of users received phishing emails designed to steal recovery phrases. Meanwhile, several influential social media accounts on X (formerly Twitter) were hacked to promote fake tokens.
Also, AI-driven scams have increased significantly. Hong Kong authorities uncovered a deepfake crypto romance scam, leading to the arrest of 27 suspects accused of defrauding victims of $46 million.
The increasing frequency and sophistication of these crypto scams highlight the critical need for stronger proactive safeguards in the industry.
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