Chinese government has geared up against cryptocurrency scams and recently arrested 109 people allegedly behind the PlusToken scam. PlusToken was touted as a crypto investment avenue promising high-yield rates, typically between 9% to 18% monthly. In line with the old age – “If something is too good to be true, it probably isn’t”, it later turned out to be a ponzi scheme luring investors from China and South Korea.
The PlusToken scam also mimicked a typical Multi-level-marketing scheme wherein old members were rewarded if they referred newer ones. As is the case with affiliate programs, they would receive a commission from the users under their referral code.
The scam surfaced up when users reported being unable to access funds parked at PlusToken. Early estimates revealed the amount to be somewhere around the USD 3 billion mark. Some media outlets based in China have reported the figure could be close to USD 6 billion. This led to authorities tracing the site’s operators and arresting six individuals connected with PlusToken. Multiple suspects are currently on the run while Chinese officials try to find their whereabouts.
In the most recent development, the Chinese State Police has revealed having arrested 27 high-impact criminals and 82 others behind PlusToken. Authorities have attempted to find out the complete list of employees and management involved with the network and nab as many of them as possible. The investigation about the funds moved is still underway. Data from the blockchain reveals how the scammed cryptocurrency subsequently landed up in over 6000 different crypto wallets. This tactic is characteristic of someone attempting to hide their identity and trick authorities.
Researchers associated with the authorities are tracing the cryptocurrency and monitoring its movement. Cryptocurrency has been involved in multiple scams lately with the latest one being the infamous twitter bitcoin hack which is still being investigated.
