Kenne Michael 
The Hong Kong police have issued a warning after a wave of text message-based phishing scams targeted 11 Hong Kong-based Binance consumers.
Hong Kong police issued a warning about the fraud on its “CyberDefender” Facebook page on October 9.
“Recently, fraudsters posing as Binance sent text messages claiming that users must click the link in the message to verify their identity details before a deadline, otherwise their account would be deactivated.”
Beware of scammers. Stay #SAFU! pic.twitter.com/XZMDMKkBJf
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) October 9, 2023
Police said that once users clicked the link and supposedly “verified” their personal details, hackers could gain complete access to their Binance accounts, where they proceeded to steal all of the assets contained within the user’s wallet.
In the last two weeks, 11 Hong Kong-based Binance consumers have reported losses totaling more than $446,000 ($3.5 million Hong Kong dollars), according to the post.
In addition, the police displayed a link to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)’s newly published inventory of verified trading platforms for virtual assets.
Only two cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong, Hashkey and OSL, are licensed for retail investments.
CyberDefender was introduced in May by the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force in an effort to increase local citizens’ awareness of online security risks.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong crypto investors have been struck hard by scams and fraudulent activity in recent weeks, with the recent JPEX crypto exchange scandal resulting in estimated losses of $180 million and over 2,300 Hong Kong residents filing complaints with local police.
JPEX was allegedly an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange that enticed Hong Kong residents with “suspiciously” high interest rates on its lending products.
The exchange increased withdrawal fees on its platform on September 15, rendering user funds inaccessible.
In response to the scandal, which has been described as the largest financial fraud ever perpetrated in Hong Kong, the SFC announced that it would publish a list of completely licensed and “suspicious” crypto platforms to prevent future fraud.
The police have advised users who believe they have received a potentially fraudulent message to report it on their website’s “fraud prevention” section.