Authorities in Hong Kong have arrested three individuals who allegedly duped a businessman out of HK$3.11 million, approximately US$399,000, in cryptocurrency.

According to a local report, the scammers promised to exchange the victim’s cryptocurrency holdings for cash at an attractive rate. However, once the funds were transferred, the victim was left with counterfeit HK$1,000 banknotes.

The scammers deceived the victim by placing two genuine banknotes on top of the three bundles of bank training notes that were offered in exchange for USDT. Further, the victim was asked to transfer his HK$3.11 million in USDT to a wallet under the fraudsters’ control before he was promised payment.

Training notes are used to train bank staff and closely resemble the actual currency. The only …