Odaily Planet Daily News: The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) warns the public to beware of seven entities suspected of engaging in fraudulent activities claiming to be related to virtual assets (collectively, the Suspected Entities), which operate under the following names: XTCQT, CEG, BTEPRO, Bitones.org, Yomaex Crypto Market Limited (also known as Yomaex), Bstor (also known as Bstorest), Taurusemex. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission said that the Suspected Entities claimed to provide cryptocurrency trading services, and some of the Suspected Entities had used social media platforms or instant messaging software to guide investors to their respective websites to register as users to invest in cryptocurrencies. Some investors reported problems when withdrawing funds from the Suspected Entities. In some cases, the Suspected Entities claimed that the investor's account was involved in money laundering activities or illegal funds, thus suspending withdrawals. Investors were asked to pay high "fees" or "taxes" to process their withdrawal applications or reactivate suspended accounts. One of the Suspected Entities, Taurusemex, also falsely claimed that the investor's account was regulated by the SFC. The police have taken action to block the relevant websites at the request of the SFC. Although the police have taken action, the public should be aware that scammers may continue to establish websites with similar domain names. The suspected entities and their respective websites were included in the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission’s warning list of suspicious virtual asset trading platforms on July 5, 2024.
