4 ms·

The linked statement from Europol is some weeks old, so this is old news https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/crypto-investment-fraud-ring-d

The linked statement from Europol is some weeks old, so this is old news https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/crypto-investment-fraud-ring-dismantled-in-spain-after-defrauding-5-000-victims-worldwide https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/cryp... Europol does not disclose it, but it is likely related to Myanmar pig butchering aka romance scam centers https://thehackernews.com/2025/06/europol-dismantles-540-million.html?m=1 https://thehackernews.com/2025/06/europol-dismantles-540-mil...

arealaccount 1y ago
> that laundered €460 million ($540 million) from more than 5,000 victims across the world. So they’re averaging just over $100k per victim, I wonder what the spread is
- e1g 1y ago
  Almost certainly a couple of whales as they made the investigation happen.
  - PaulHoule 1y ago
    When I first starting seeing 419 scams in the 1990s I wondered "Who would expect $10M to fall out of the sky?" As these target the intersection of "rich" and "no common sense", it must be "someone who already had $10M fall out of the sky" and could be a case for more taxation because these people aren't in a position to put money to work in a way that benefits themselves and society.
- jacquesm 1y ago
  'just'? For some old person that could well be the difference between them having a normal life or becoming destitute. I really don't think that is 'just'.
  - Aurornis 1y ago
    The ‘just’ was in reference to rounding to a close whole number, not a judgment on the relative size of the theft.
    - jacquesm 1y ago
      Even with your explanation that's not how I would have read that sentence. But thank you for explaining it. I would have probably used 'a little' or 'a bit' to avoid the confusion.
      - johnisgood 1y ago
        Does it matter as much though? 100k EUR at age 30 would set me for life, too, but I do not care if it is "just" for them. Many people got it better than me. If you would like to help me out, I would appreciate that a lot. I have BuyMeaCoffee account. Even as "small" (relative, because it is a LOT to me) as 300-500 EUR would make an enormous difference in my life (and some people around me, such as my grandma). I have MS, I am 30 years old, and I am unable to work. I would love to get a fully remote job, but I had severe anxiety and depression long before MS gave me brain lesions, so the situation is much worse now, and I have incontinence and immobility issues on top of all this. Plus I have a severe case of impostor syndrome, among a lot of other things I wish I didn't have.
  - tom_ 1y ago
    "Just over N" means "slightly more than N".
crote 1y ago
Ah. Reading the HN title I was expecting something closer to a memecoin / rugpull maker getting arrested, but I guess rolling up a large 2025s Nigerian Prince gang isn't bad either. I guess we'll have to wait a bit longer for a proper crypto scam rollup.
- miohtama 1y ago
  It's mostly Chinese with suspected ties to the party. As long as Chinese Triads scam only foreigners, it is seen positive development for the party. https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2025/01/13/china-hong-kong-myanmar-kk-park-scam-victims/ https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2025/01/13/china-hong-kong...

arealaccount 1y ago

> that laundered €460 million ($540 million) from more than 5,000 victims across the world. So they’re averaging just over $100k per victim, I wonder what the spread is

e1g 1y ago
Almost certainly a couple of whales as they made the investigation happen.
- PaulHoule 1y ago
  When I first starting seeing 419 scams in the 1990s I wondered "Who would expect $10M to fall out of the sky?" As these target the intersection of "rich" and "no common sense", it must be "someone who already had $10M fall out of the sky" and could be a case for more taxation because these people aren't in a position to put money to work in a way that benefits themselves and society.
jacquesm 1y ago
'just'? For some old person that could well be the difference between them having a normal life or becoming destitute. I really don't think that is 'just'.
- Aurornis 1y ago
  The ‘just’ was in reference to rounding to a close whole number, not a judgment on the relative size of the theft.
  - jacquesm 1y ago
    Even with your explanation that's not how I would have read that sentence. But thank you for explaining it. I would have probably used 'a little' or 'a bit' to avoid the confusion.
    - johnisgood 1y ago
      Does it matter as much though? 100k EUR at age 30 would set me for life, too, but I do not care if it is "just" for them. Many people got it better than me. If you would like to help me out, I would appreciate that a lot. I have BuyMeaCoffee account. Even as "small" (relative, because it is a LOT to me) as 300-500 EUR would make an enormous difference in my life (and some people around me, such as my grandma). I have MS, I am 30 years old, and I am unable to work. I would love to get a fully remote job, but I had severe anxiety and depression long before MS gave me brain lesions, so the situation is much worse now, and I have incontinence and immobility issues on top of all this. Plus I have a severe case of impostor syndrome, among a lot of other things I wish I didn't have.
- tom_ 1y ago
  "Just over N" means "slightly more than N".

crote 1y ago

Ah. Reading the HN title I was expecting something closer to a memecoin / rugpull maker getting arrested, but I guess rolling up a large 2025s Nigerian Prince gang isn't bad either. I guess we'll have to wait a bit longer for a proper crypto scam rollup.

miohtama 1y ago
It's mostly Chinese with suspected ties to the party. As long as Chinese Triads scam only foreigners, it is seen positive development for the party. https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2025/01/13/china-hong-kong-myanmar-kk-park-scam-victims/ https://www.rfa.org/english/china/2025/01/13/china-hong-kong...