BlockBeats News: On May 26th, according to Hubei Internet Police, in January of this year, Xiaoli (pseudonym), a resident of Shengli Town, met "Wang", a self proclaimed active duty soldier, on a certain dating platform. This extraordinary 'soldier brother' led Xiaoli to an encrypted chat software under the pretext of strict military discipline. In the midst of daily inquiries, 'Wang' gradually threw out bait - claiming to have control over the internal investment channels of a certain financial company, and thoughtfully offered to operate on his behalf. Seeing the account screenshot sent by 'Wang', the number rolled from 100000 to 300000, and Xiaoli finally felt tempted. Little do they know, this seemingly professional investment platform is actually a virtual program manipulated by fraudsters, and the so-called profits are nothing more than digital games modified arbitrarily in the background.
When Xiaoli started recharging the platform, a more secretive criminal chain began to operate. The fraud gang dispatched multiple "riders" to collect cash offline. These plainclothes cash withdrawals appeared at the agreed upon location like ghosts. After counting the banknotes, they turned around and converted the cash into virtual currency, completing the crucial step of "whitewashing" the stolen money. On March 28th, after the last 30000 yuan in cash was taken away, the 'military officer boyfriend' suddenly went missing. Xiaoli, who was awakened, hurriedly called the police. At this time, she had already transferred hundreds of thousands of yuan in hard-earned money.
After receiving the alarm, the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Luotian County Public Security Bureau quickly established a special task force to carry out "dual track tracking". Through fund flow analysis and technical investigation, the police found that this criminal gang exhibited typical characteristics of "overseas command and domestic implementation". The so-called 'military officer boyfriend' is actually a foreign fraudster, while the 'rider' active in China is a money laundering gang that helps fraudsters transfer funds.
According to the suspect's confession, the gang received instructions through overseas chat software and conducted offline transactions with the victim after each order was received. After receiving cash, they purchase USDT (Tether) at a price lower than the market price and transfer it to the "online" wallet, using the anonymity of virtual currency to evade regulation. To avoid investigation, people often wear masks, hats, and even frequently change transportation when withdrawing money.
"These 'riders' can earn 3% -5% commission each time, and they are greedy, making them become criminal accomplices." The police handling the case revealed that at present, the police have recovered 130000 yuan of losses from the victims, frozen 300000 yuan of suspicious funds, and four suspect have been taken criminal coercive measures according to law. The case is under further investigation.
The police stated that Tether, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, is a type of encrypted virtual currency that has become the most favored money laundering medium for fraudsters due to its anonymity and convenience in transactions.
