The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) is warning investors of cryptocurrency scams that promise unusually high dividends after hundreds of victims lodged complaints online.
Pol Col Kissana Phatthanacharoen, CCIB spokesman, yesterday said the scams involve luring victims into investing in a cloud mining service, promising shares of crypto coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Binance Coin and Dogecoin.
All transactions are made via a cryptocurrency wallet, a peer-to-peer network operated by a digital asset exchange, that is not certified in Thailand. Pol Col Kissana said transactions made through a foreign asset exchange require a longer time to investigate.
He said the CCIB has received complaints via www.thaipoliceonline.com, an online platform. He said the victims were scammed into investing in a cloud mining project called EVBOX, which is based in a neighbouring country.
The project initially promised dividends of 3–4% per day to its investors. Victims were constantly offered packages to invest in mining tools, promising even more crypto coins.
The victims said they received dividends during the early phase. However, the project stopped paying them as they increased their investment, said Pol Col Kissana.
In November, the CCIB announced an investigation into a cryptocurrency scam by the P Miner company in Chiang Mai after over 700 victims reported that the company’s founder, Kittikorn Inta, had cheated them out of 900 million baht.
Under the Computer-Related Crime Act, those found guilty of conducting scams are subject to up to three years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to 60,000 baht.
Online scammers can also be charged with fraud, which carries a five-year imprisonment and a 100,000-baht fine if found guilty.