Greater Manchester Police force has salvaged millions in stolen cryptocurrency scam after apprehending international scammers who were passing through the region.
A sum of $22.25 million (equivalent to just over £16 million) was seized by specialist officers from the Economic Crime Unit after intelligence found USB sticks containing huge amounts of Ethereum (the second largest cryptocurrency after BitCoin).
GMP said that scammers had duped people into investing millions in fake savings and trading services – and officers are now in the process of returning the currency to rightful owners.
According to police, victims based in the UK, USA, Europe, China, Australia and Hong Kong had deposited money into what they thought was an online savings and trading service using Binance Smart Chain – which stores and records transactions made in cryptocurrency confirming their movement and value.
The scammers had apparently waited until a significant amount of money had been deposited before shutting down their website and transferring the funds into their own accounts.
ADVERTISEMENT
#SCAM GMP rumbles international multi-million pound crypto-currency scam as GMP rumbled the fraud as it passed through #Manchester. Read more here: https://t.co/h96PSezSrH Learn about how to spot these scams from GMP's Detective Chief Inspector Joe Harrop: pic.twitter.com/Uqt6Xl4Idr
A 23-year-old male and a 25-year-old female were arrested for fraud and money laundering offences, but have since been released under investigation.
GMP’s Economic Crime Unit later found a further $12.7 million after locating a Cryptograph safety deposit box -effectively an online safe – and the code to access it.
ADVERTISEMENT
Cryptocurrency saving and trading services are becoming increasingly popular – and GMP says that criminals are finding ways to exploit the trend.
Detective Chief Inspector Joe Harrop of Greater Manchester Police’s ECU, said: “Our lives are increasingly moving online or onto our phones, and currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are often seen as the future when it comes to money and trading.
“With that comes a new type of crime and we’re seeing a rise in opportunist criminals looking to exploit these trends as well as any gaps in the technology that can be manipulated.
“It’s vital that we as a force adapt to what is an emerging type of crime, and demonstrate that there will be repercussions, regardless of the platform this fraudulent activity takes place on.”
ADVERTISEMENT
A sum of $22.25 million (equivalent to just over £16 million) was seized by specialist officers / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
He continued: “Organised crime is getting increasingly sophisticated in faking websites and services.
“Most of us can say we’ve got a text message from a seemingly known brand or bank, and it [is] harder than ever to tell if it’s the real deal.
“This latest case shows the huge sums we’re dealing with, and the reach these organised outfits can now achieve – a whole world is potentially vulnerable to this kind of exploitation, as shown in this case.
“We urge anyone involved [with] these platforms to use extreme caution, and know that there are still significant vulnerabilities and risks that could put their savings at risk.”
If you believe you’ve been affected by this particular cryptocurrency scam, please get in touch with Greater Manchester Police at [email protected] with the following details:
The name of the savings and trading service invested in
The name of the law enforcement you reported the crime to, and officer details
Wallet addresses and documentation to prove ownership
Featured Image – Pixabay
News
Manchester’s iconic inflatable monsters are set to invade the city centre again this Halloween
Emily Sergeant
Dozens of huge inflatable monsters are set to invade Manchester next month, as Halloween returns to the city for 2024.
Yes, it’s that time of year yet again… the monsters are back.
After several years of looming over Manchester‘s most-notable rooftops and lurking around famous city centre sites, it’s been revealed that the iconic MCR Monsters will be returning for another year of spooky celebrations next month, along with loads of other terrifying tricks and treats – with something for the whole family to get involved with.
Organisers CityCo and Manchester BID are gearing up to “roll out the blood-red carpet” for its legendary and monstrous guests in a couple of weeks time.
This year’s annual Halloween in the City celebrations will kick off with a week-long colourful invasion of the MCR Monsters, before being followed by a two-day family festival across the city’s popular shopping destinations.
Halloween is returning to the city for loads of spooky celebrations next month / Credit: CityCo (via Supplied)
Crawling their way back into the city from Friday 25 October through to Halloween itself on Thursday 31 October, the epic MCR Monsters inflatable art trail – which is created by artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas – will be taking over leading locations like Manchester Arndale, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Corn Exchange, and New Century, with many more sites set to be announced soon.
A brand-new monster called ‘The Leech’ will be heading to town to join to celebrations this year, alongside some other spookily-similar faces from years’ past.
Buildings across the city will also be turning a ghoulish green once the night falls, while you can also expect to see thousands of little pumpkin lanterns adorning the city’s streets once again.
There’ll be something for all the family to / Credit: CityCo (via Supplied)
Some of the other fan-favourite events on the jam-packed Halloween in the City lineup confirmed to be returning this year are the ‘Monsters Rock! Music Festival’, with spooky live bands and DJs, as well as gruesome games and competitions, the popular ‘Team Trick v Team Treat’ fancy dress challenge, and the hair-raising monster procession ‘Rock! Party Procession’ – which will feature giant puppet monsters, stilt walkers, and a live band marching their way through Manchester Arndale and on Market Street.
Thousands of families are expected to come into the city centre dressed in their scariest costumes over Halloween weekend on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October.
Jane Sharrocks, who is the Chair of Manchester BID, said Manchester is set to transform into the “ultimate Halloween playground” this year, and that organisers are planning 2024 to be the “most thrilling year yet”.
“As the first UK city to host these incredible creatures, Manchester has become the ultimate Halloween destination,” Jane added.
Halloween in the City officially returns to Manchester on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October, with the monsters descending from Friday 25 October and the pumpkins potentially even earlier, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled.
Featured Image – CityCo (via Supplied)
News
‘Life-changing’ scheme helps house hundreds of Greater Manchester’s homeless people
Emily Sergeant
Hundreds of homeless people in Manchester have now been helped “get back on their feet” thanks to a successful pilot housing scheme.
Greater Manchester’s ‘Housing First’ pilot scheme was rolled out in 2019.
The scheme is all about recognising that “a good home has to be the first step to a good life”, according to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), and since it was first introduced, it has primarily been helping people with chronic and long-standing experiences of homelessness into homes of their own, without preconditions.
Ongoing personalised wraparound support to manage issues, ranging from mental health problems to substance misuse, is also a key part of what the scheme’s all about.
Since 2019, the scheme then has helped a total of 413 people find “good, safe homes”, GMCA has revealed.
Around 75% of those housed have also sustained their tenancies too, with some even going on to form part of Housing First’s co-production panel – sharing their experiences, and making sure that the service continues to meet people’s needs.
Giving everyone a good, safe home is one of the best investments this country can make.
That’s why we want to take the lessons of our @GMHousingFirst pilot & follow @FinlandInUK by adopting it as our philosophy in Greater Manchester.
Because of the clear success of the pilot in our region, Greater Manchester and Mayor Andy Burnham are now calling on the Government to take the lessons learned from the scheme and embed them into a new approach to tackle the housing crisis nationwide.
Andy Burnham says he believes that giving everyone a good, safe home would be “one of the best investments the country could make”, as it would “take pressure off” other public services and public finances, and declared that our region is ready to follow in Finland’s footsteps by becoming the first UK city-region to adopt the ‘Housing First’ philosophy permenantly.
“The evidence is clear that it works, and when a pilot scheme gets results it shouldn’t end there – it should become the new normal,” Mr Burnham said.
A ‘life-changing’ scheme has helped house hundreds of Greater Manchester’s homeless people / Credit: Manchester City Council
“Housing First has shown that if you give people an unconditional right to safe and secure housing, backed up with personalised support, you set them up to succeed, so instead of winding it down, we should be scaling it up and turning it into a national mission.
“We’re starting that here in Greater Manchester.
“We’re bringing in new protections for renters, tackling bad landlords, and with the right powers and funding, we can deliver 75,000 new homes in this parliament.
“Our new Housing First Unit will drive this work forward, bringing together partners across our city-region with a clear goal – a healthy home for everyone in Greater Manchester by 2038.”
The Manc -
12th August 2021 
