Chainalysis has made discoveries related to KK Park, a notorious pig slaughter facility in Myanmar, where $100 million was stolen by forcing the families of its workers to transfer cryptocurrencies.
Nearly 2,000 trafficked workers are believed to be there. The report explains how the facility extorts the families of trafficked workers. This was done by demanding cryptocurrencies in exchange for the freedom of their loved ones.
Romance scam leads to $100 million in cryptocurrency stolen
A recent Chainalysis report indicates that the two ransomware wallet addresses are linked to a Chinese front company for the pig slaughter ring operating out of KK Park.
“We know they take cryptocurrency payments from fraud victims. But Heintz also told us that pig slaughter gangs often ask families of trafficked workers to pay them ransom for their family members’ freedom — and these payments are also often made in cryptocurrency.”
Chaina Analysis provides a graph showing that two major ransomware addresses receive the majority of the funds. One of these addresses receives money from scams such as pig slaughter schemes.
Meanwhile, the other receives cryptocurrencies from family members of human trafficking victims.
The estimated total of the two portfolios exceeds $100 million.
However, Chainalysis was unable to ascertain the percentage derived from the ransom payment and fraudulent activities.
Read more: 15 common crypto scams you should watch out for
However, since these two addresses are only from one company operating out of KK Park, Chaina Analysis declares that “in general, scammers operating out of the park make significant sums.”
Escape from romance cryptocurrency scam complex poses challenge for workers
Other reports indicate that due to its remote location in Southeast Asia, KK Park makes it extremely difficult for workers to escape the complex. The only option is for their family members to agree to ransom demands, which often include cryptocurrencies.
However, many of the workers who ended up there were unaware of the true nature of the situation; Some believed they were accepting legitimate job offers.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency industry remains focused on scams, with the amounts stolen from victims increasing dramatically.
This is partly due to the global adoption of digital assets.
Read more: How to recognize a fraudulent crypto project
On January 30, BeInCrypto reported that the US Department of Justice charged three individuals for their involvement in a fraudulent crypto scheme. They face charges of defrauding individuals of nearly $2 billion.
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