The number of fraud cases has surged! October's financial losses from fraud are nearing last year's total.
Taiwan's fraud problem continues to worsen, becoming a significant social concern. KMT legislator Chang Chih-lun held a public hearing in the Legislative Yuan on November 26 titled 'Public-Private Cooperation to Combat Fraud', pointing out that the financial losses from fraud cases in October reached 12 billion NTD, an increase of 3.2 billion NTD compared to the entire last year, which is shocking. According to the 'Fraud Dashboard' from the Ministry of the Interior and the National Police Agency, there were 18,094 fraud cases processed in October, with an average daily financial loss of up to 550 million NTD. These staggering figures not only raise concerns but also highlight the urgency of the government's anti-fraud policy.
Source: Fraud Dashboard This October, the total financial losses from fraud cases reached 12 billion NTD.
Last year, Taiwan's total financial losses from fraud amounted to 8.878 billion NTD, with cryptocurrency fraud accounting for 5.3 billion NTD. However, data from October this year shows that the fraud problem has not improved but has worsened. Chang Chih-lun questioned: 'How can fraud be getting worse the more we combat it?' He pointed out that the budget for anti-fraud efforts for the coming year has reached 7.35 billion NTD, an increase of 4.8 times compared to this year, but the effectiveness has not significantly improved.
Legislators criticize: Recovery of funds is difficult; public-private cooperation is urgent.
Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien bluntly stated that since 2022, over 80% of the fraud amount cannot be recovered. He criticized that most illicit gains are quickly laundered through foreign cryptocurrency companies, and the government lacks effective regulation over foreign exchanges. According to Wu's investigation, among cryptocurrency operators that have made 'laundering prevention statements', there are 26 domestic and 1 foreign, but investigations show that the company in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) is actually a Taiwanese company, which means the government has not actually controlled any foreign cryptocurrency company.
Even more concerning, the Executive Yuan's Anti-Fraud Command Center claims that 2.4 billion NTD has been returned from June last year to October this year, but the actual repayment situation is questionable. Wu Tsung-hsien pointed out that it is common in practice for payments to be made for the first two installments after a settlement, but then not fulfilled thereafter, so this 2.4 billion NTD figure may contain 'inflated' elements.
Legislator Lin Pei-hsiang cited Nobel laureate Paul Krugman's perspective, describing fraud as a high-value criminal industry. He emphasized that relying solely on the public sector for prevention is insufficient; a joint response from legal, technological, and financial aspects is necessary. Legislator Ko Jui-chun also pointed out that over 70% of cryptocurrency users in Taiwan use foreign exchanges, highlighting the urgency of regulation.
Source: United Daily News KMT legislators held a public hearing in the Legislative Yuan, calling for strengthened regulation of virtual currencies.
The government's response: Advancing the formulation of Anti-Fraud Program 2.0 on two tracks.
In the face of rampant fraud, the Executive Yuan's Anti-Fraud Command Center stated that it will integrate legal and technological measures to expedite the completion of the 'New Anti-Fraud Laws'.
The command center emphasized that it is formulating 'Anti-Fraud Program 2.0', which will address multiple aspects: blocking the misuse of financial services, preventing the illegal use of telecommunications services, regulating the digital economy industry to prevent it from becoming a channel for fraud information, and strictly punishing fraud crimes.
It is worth noting that the command center pointed out that according to the Global Anti-Fraud Alliance (GASA) report, over 40% of Asian people encounter fraud every month. They believe that the increase in fraud case numbers and amounts is a painful period in the process of suppressing and controlling fraud. Without strong government intervention and investigation, the situation will become even more severe.
The anti-fraud efforts will be a collaborative effort among multiple departments: the Ministry of the Interior is responsible for educational outreach on fraud recognition, the National Communications Commission handles telecommunications service issues, the Ministry of Digital Development focuses on the digital economy, the Financial Supervisory Commission is in charge of tracking illicit funds, and the Ministry of Justice is focused on investigation and enforcement. All departments will work together to achieve the best results in effectively curbing fraud.
Further Reading
Bitcoin surges and profits! Legislator Lai Shih-pao: Taiwan should impose taxes on cryptocurrency income, what does the Ministry of Finance say?
Police need to understand blockchain! The lecture on 'Currency Flow Tracking' has stumped internet users; can you find the answer? (with answers)
Harshly criticize Binance's notorious reputation! Legislator Wang Hong-wei reveals 2 pictures warning: The government should immediately stop cooperation.
'The crisis of cryptocurrency fraud is intensifying, making it difficult for the public to recover financial losses? Blue lawmakers call for strengthened regulation!' This article was first published in 'Cryptocurrency City'.
