- The Hanoi City Police Department said the scheme had already defrauded some 100 businesses and 400 individuals of 30 billion Vietnamese dong ($1.17 million)
- Hanoi police arrested people associated with Million Smiles, a business that planned an illicit and fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme aimed at Vietnamese nationals
- Million Smiles used misleading advertising to promote their proprietary cryptocurrency, QFS, or Quantum Financial System, by associating it with spiritual claims and ancestral treasures
The police in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi said it recently foiled an elaborate crypto scam scheme that targeted over 100 individuals. The Hanoi City Police Department said the scheme had already defrauded some 100 businesses and 400 individuals of 30 billion Vietnamese dong ($1.17 million).
According to VTV, Vietnam's national television broadcaster, per Cointelegraph, Hanoi police have arrested people associated with Million Smiles, a business that planned an illicit and fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scheme aimed at Vietnamese nationals.
Million Smiles used misleading advertising to promote their proprietary cryptocurrency, QFS, or Quantum Financial System, by associating it with spiritual claims and ancestral treasures.
The company made false claims that owning QFS would give people and businesses access to a financial ecosystem that offers advantages like funding without collateral or interest and makes unrealistic return promises.
The police found that the fraudulent company was supposed to prepare for the conference with 300 ‘clients’ in Bao Son Paradise, Anqing commune, Hoai Duc district, Hanoi, on December 24, 2024. The police then initiated an investigation.
In the meeting(s), the scammers would try to get people to invest between 4 and 5 million dong (about $190) and up to 39 million dong ($1,350) for businesses.
The police seized furniture, documents, and computers in workrooms during a search of the company's headquarters. The first investigation found that the total revenue from the QFS sale of the top item was approximately 30 billion copper, based on propaganda and promotion of QFS copper with numerous spiritual factors.
The police claims that the company's leader has established a reputation as a security company for the public's benefit to foster trust among individual and corporate clients. The trap hoist then starts by selling the virtual currency QFS, or "gainly" as the subjects refer to it.
The Vietnamese government has a history of cracking down on fraudulent crypto schemes. In October, five people linked to a complex cryptocurrency scam network run by offshore criminals were taken into custody by a provincial Vietnamese police force.
Hamster Kombat loses 18 million players, 98% of trading volume
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the popular Telegram-powered tapper game Hamster Kombat lost over 18 million players between November and today. The game’s token HMSTR also lost 97% of the trading volume reported on November 10.
Hamster Kombat was one of the most popular Telegram-powered tappers on Web3. In August this year, the game’s developers claimed to have over 300 million active players. However, the game has seen a continuous, massive decline since the HMSTR token listing and the start of trading.
