Virtual Money Offline Transactions: New Scam Tactics Raise Alarm

Recently, a case of investment fraud involving Virtual Money has attracted widespread attention. A woman met a man online who claimed to work in a confidential job, and was subsequently lured into investing in Virtual Money, ultimately suffering significant losses. The individuals involved have been arrested by law enforcement.

This case reveals the upgrade of telecom fraud methods. Criminals use online dating platforms to selectively choose targets, usually women who are financially well-off, single, or emotionally vulnerable. They gradually implement fraud by establishing emotional connections and trust relationships. This method is referred to in the industry as the "find the pig - feed the pig - raise the pig - kill the pig" four steps.

As law enforcement agencies intensify their crackdown on telecom fraud, criminals are continuously improving their methods. In this case, they used a "Virtual Money + offline trading" approach to transfer funds, which is harder to trace than traditional bank transfers, demonstrating that the criminals possess strong counter-surveillance capabilities.

In such cases, scammers typically show victims false investment returns to induce their willingness to invest. They claim that investment requires the use of virtual money such as USDT and guide victims to trade with virtual money merchants (commonly known as "U merchants") through offline cash transactions. Since victims open accounts themselves and withdraw cash in person, this step often does not raise suspicion.

However, the problem lies with the introducer. Many U merchants look for clients through instant messaging software groups, which are often regarded as breeding grounds for illegal activities. Law enforcement may consider that intermediaries connected to U merchants are likely associated with fraud rings. Therefore, the act of U merchants providing Virtual Money to victims may be seen as complicity in fraud.

For U merchants, merely performing customer identity verification (KYC) is no longer sufficient to mitigate legal risks. In some cases, U merchants may even become the "scapegoat" for fraudulent crimes.

As personnel engaged in related businesses, one should remain vigilant and carefully choose trading counterparts and channels to avoid inadvertently becoming involved in illegal activities. At the same time, ordinary investors should also maintain a clear mind, remain skeptical of online investment advice, and treat transactions involving large sums of money with caution, especially those related to Virtual Money.