Another crypto scam pandemic hit when Hong Kong authorities confirmed that 145 people were victims of the $18.9 million crypto exchange scam.

Here’s what happened:

According to local media Shenzhen Commercial News, on the 27th of November, Hong Kong police announced that 145 people lost $18.9 million (148 million Hong Kong dollars) in a fraud carried out by an illegal cryptocurrency exchange called Hounax.

In a bid to notify the Hounax platform of the complaints that have been received, the city’s local police organized a news conference on November 25th to address the issue. According to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), Hounax purported to be a legit platform founded by the original Coinbase team and claimed that it was affiliated with reputable financial institutions. The SFC had earlier warned users about the platform's vulnerabilities and labeled it as suspicious on the 1st of this month. Victims, however, claimed that they were convinced to purchase crypto on the exchange but were not able to withdraw afterward.

The exchange even claimed to have a license from Canadian regulators, and that it was considering investments from well-known firms like Sequoia Capital and IDG Capital.

Ke Yongn, the head inspector of the Hong Kong Police's Commercial Crime Investigation Section, said that the company also used social media to draw in customers but its official Facebook page is no longer active.

So far, the police have arrested 66 people under suspicions of being related to the Hounax scam as the investigation is still ongoing. Hounax has joined the list of suspicious crypto platforms on Hong Kong’s SFC list. This event foils attempts in the fight against crypto frauds.

This tragic event is similar to what happened with JPEX, another crypto exchange based in Hong Kong. Over $180 million was lost in the JPEX scam which happened in September and is regarded as one of the biggest financial frauds that has happened in the city in recent times.