Fake staking site drains $8.5 million in XRP from dozens of investors promising easy yield
South Korean authorities have detained two men involved in a fraudulent cryptocurrency staking site that allegedly stole $8.5 million in XRP from investors. The scammers used a fake website and deceptive marketing tactics to promise high monthly returns, with police currently seeking an international arrest warrant for a third suspect.
Why it matters
This case highlights the growing sophistication of crypto-related financial crimes and the ongoing challenge of protecting retail investors from impersonation scams.
Two men were detained on aggravated fraud charges and a third alleged scammer is on the loose, South Korean news outlet Chosun reported Thursday.
Authorities said investigations are ongoing as they believe the scam is much larger than they have been able to prove so far, adding that the scammers might have robbed up to $19 million worth of XRP, Chosun stated.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit at the Seoul Metropolitan Police said the scammers ran the fake investment site from Oct. 16 to Oct. 23 and tricked victims into believing that if they deposited “Rippke, you will receive a return of 1.5% to 1.8% every month,” Chosun said.
Police officials investigating the case said the alleged scammers created the fraudulent website using the name of a genuine blockchain project. They then disseminated false advertising through Naver blogs, online news articles, Wikipedia and YouTube, the news outlet said.
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