Microsoft Teams Has Become a Haven for Scammers in China
Microsoft Teams is increasingly being exploited by scammers in China to facilitate cryptocurrency investment fraud. Victims are lured into using the platform for communication, where they are then defrauded of significant sums of money, leading to warnings from local law enforcement.
Why it matters
This highlights the security risks associated with legitimate enterprise software being repurposed for criminal activity in regions with high digital adoption.
“I didn’t think much because I had used this app before. And since it was developed by Microsoft, I kind of trusted it,” says Zhao, who requested to use only her last name for privacy reasons.
Once they switched to Teams, the scammer began promising to build a future with Zhao when they eventually got together and introduced her to a cryptocurrency investment project, which he said would turn a profit much faster than trading stocks. Zhao says that at first, she was excited about the opportunity, and even took out loans from several banks so she could invest more.
Then the scammer disappeared with all of her money. Because she can no longer log into the Teams account he told her to use, she can’t share the chat logs with police.
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