After became the victim of a nearly $1 million cryptocurrency scam, A California resident sued three Asian banks, accusing them of ignoring basic checks that could have prevented the fraud.
The plaintiff, Ken Liem, filed suit on December 31, 2024, in a California court.
$1 million cryptocurrency scam sparks lawsuit
The the lawyer said Liem was duped in a “pork slaughter” scam. In June 2023, scammers contacted him via LinkedIn and invited him to invest in cryptocurrency.
“Pork-slapping” is a type of cryptocurrency scam that differs from the traditional method. This term refers to the process of slowly fattening pigs before slaughter. Similarly, in this scam, the crooks build trust slowly before the final deception.
Over several months, Liem transferred large sums of money to individuals posing as cryptocurrency investors. He said that the money would be used for investment.
According to Liem’s legal team, the funds were transferred to three Asian banks: Fubon Bank Limited in Hong Kong, Chong Hing Bank Limited and DBS Bank Limited in Singapore. The scammers are said to have transferred money to third-party accounts.
Liem’s lawyers argued that the banks did not conduct adequate checks, including Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML), which could have detected suspicious behavior and prevented fraudsters from opening accounts. clause.
Banks failed to report illegal funds transferred from the United States to the Asian institutions where they managed accounts. As a result, the banks apparently helped transfer millions of dollars for illegal purposes.
Additionally, the lawsuit accuses the banks of violating the U.S. Financial Secrecy Act. This act requires financial institutions to report suspicious activity and maintain detailed transaction records.
Because DBS has a branch in California, the bank is bound by this law. Similarly, Fubon and Chong Hing processed the transaction through Liem’s Wells Fargo account in the United States.
Liem is seeking a jury trial and damages of at least $3 million.
On a different note, this news comes as cryptocurrency hacks and scams cost more than $2.3 billion by 2024. Another worrying trend is the prevalence of scams. make pork”. These sophisticated scams have swindled more than $3.6 billion from unfortunate users.
“The increase in access control breaches and sophisticated scams like Pork Butchering underscores the importance of deploying AI-powered risk assessment, transaction validation, and anomaly detection tools. often. Security must evolve to stay ahead of increasingly complex and coordinated attacks,” security firm Web3 Cyvers told TinTucBitcoin.
