HK Police Warn against a Wave of Phishing Scam: Binance Users Lost $446K

<p dir="ltr">Binance users in Hong Kong have become the latest target of fraudsters, which has even forced the local police to issue a warning. In the last two weeks, at least 11 Binance customers in Hong Kong lost more than $446,000 (HKD 3.5 million) in a wave of phishing scams sent through text messages.</p><p dir="ltr">A Wave of Phishing Scams in Hong Kong</p><p dir="ltr">According to Hong Kong police, Binance customers received a text message to verify their account before the deadline with a phishing link in it.</p><p dir="ltr">“Recently, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/binance-phishing-attack-is-underway-warns-ceo-changpeng-zhao/">fraudsters posing as Binance </a>sent text messages claiming that users must click the link in the message to verify their identity details before a deadline, otherwise their account would be deactivated,” the warning of Hong Kong police from its Facebook page dubbed “CyberDefender” stated.</p><p dir="ltr">When the victims click the phishing link and enter the credentials to ‘verify’ their accounts, the fraudsters gain full access to their Binance account and drain the funds. The modus operandi echoes any <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/thought-leadership/phishing-in-crypto-how-to-ensure-top-email-security/">typical phishing scam</a>.</p><p dir="ltr">Changpeng Zhao, the Founder and CEO of Binance, also warned customers with a tweet.</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Beware of scammers. Stay <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAFU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SAFU</a>! <a href="https://t.co/XZMDMKkBJf">pic.twitter.com/XZMDMKkBJf</a></p>— CZ