Cryptocurrency Millionaire Scammed; Loses 5,500 Bitcoins

A young cryptocurrency investor from Finland called Aarni Otava Saarimaa lost 5,564.4 bitcoins (BTC) that were worth 24 million dollars. Apparently, and according to the Bangkok Post, scammers in Thailand were able to steal his virtual currencies after convincing him to send his funds.

Cryptocurrency Scam Harms Finnish Crypto Millionaire

The Thailand Crime Suppression Division’s (CSD) was able to conduct an investigation in which they were able to detect this crypto scam.

Mr. Saarima was convinced that he was investing in shares of a casino and a cryptocurrency called Dragon Coins. Since he did not have any profit, his business partner Chonnikan Kaeosali filed a complaint to the CSD.

As per the report, the group sold all the cryptocurrencies in order to have Thai currency in their accounts. Some of them decided to buy some land with the intention to avoid being controlled.

Apparently, the group of scammers is conformed by nine individuals and that may include the Thai actor Jiratpisit ‘Boom’ Jaravijit. He has been arrested back in July and two of his siblings were able to leave the country.

The fraudsters used very complex scamming techniques not seen in other similar situations. For example, the company was not just asking for the coins, but they convinced Mr. Saarimaa that the so called Dragon Coins were going to be used at a Casino in Macao.

CDS deputy commander Pol Col Charkrit explained to the Bangkok Post:

“We had to carefully examine documents and trace the money trail (…) it took us almost seven months to get approval for the arrest warrants for the first group.”

Additionally, 51 bank accounts have been frozen and 14 plots of land have also been frozen. The CSD deputy chief refuted the rumours that involved politicians in the scam.

Other virtual currency scams have been spreading in the cryptocurrency world.

The golden rule says not to give the private key of your wallet to others and store it very safely. Moreover, if someone asks for funds, it is very important to investigate whether the project is legitimate or fake.

Facebook, Google and Twitter decided to implement a ban on ads from Initial Coin Offerings due to the fact that some of them were scams or fraudulent schemes.