From Gold to Crypto: New Cross-Border Scam Chain Exposed, 7 Million Funds "Washed Away"

Hong Kong police recently disclosed a successful crackdown on a cross-border phone scam case: the criminal group impersonated mainland law enforcement officers, specifically targeting students studying in the UK and Australia for precise scams.
The modus operandi is highly "process-driven":

Falsely claiming the victim is involved in money laundering or other criminal cases

Demanding "cooperation" and paying so-called security deposits

Guiding victims to Hong Kong to buy gold bars in batches (no more than 120k HKD per transaction to evade regulation)

Then, gang members collect and transfer the stolen goods

The subsequent fund flow becomes even more covert:
Gold is melted down, liquidated, and even exchanged for virtual currency to "clean" the funds.
Currently, 7 cases have been confirmed, involving approximately 7 million HKD, with the highest single loss reaching 1.6 million HKD.
Structurally, this type of crime has formed a complete chain:
"Psychological manipulation → Asset conversion → Cross-border transfer → Crypto money laundering."
This reminds us of a reality—
Crypto assets themselves are not the problem, but they are becoming one of the tools for illegal fund circulation.
In this market, making money is important, but maintaining the bottom line is even more crucial.
True awareness is not just understanding market trends, but also recognizing risks and scams. The more "reasonable" a process looks, the more vigilant we should be.