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Interpol Arrests ‘Madam Ngo’ In Bangkok For $300M Crypto Scam
GameFi Guides

Interpol Arrests ‘Madam Ngo’ in Bangkok for $300M Crypto Scam

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Interpol, an international police organization, has arrested a woman named Ngo Thi Theu, also called Madam Ngo, in Bangkok, Thailand. She has been arrested for running a $300 million crypto scam that tricked over 2,000 people. The arrest happened in the Watthana area.

The 30-year-old from Vietnam was caught in a hotel with two bodyguards, Ta Dinh Phuoc, 38, and Trong Khuyen Trong, 41, who were also arrested for staying in Thailand longer than their visas allowed.

As per the reports, ‘Madam Ngo’ has assured the people that if they invest in her crypto scheme, they will make a 20-30% profit each month. And as soon as the people invested in her fake crypto scheme, she stole their money and hid it through a complicated money-laundering system. Police from Thailand and Vietnam have worked together to find her.

The scam run by ‘Madam Ngo’ was huge and has shocked many people in the crypto world. She targeted people mostly from Vietnam. Fraudsters used famous people and influencers to manipulate people into trusting them. This plan has helped the scammers to reach more people.

Now, the police of Thailand and Vietnam are working together to figure out how scammers hid the stolen money. This case reminds everyone that the crypto world can be risky because it’s not fully regulated, and investigations are still going on. Additionally, the incident highlights the increasing sophistication and cunning of crypto scams and why countries need to work together to stop such fraud.

Also Read: Crypto Investors Lost $2.6 Million to Phishing Scam



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Crypto Trends

Vietnamese Police Arrest Gang Accused of $394M Matrix Chain Scam

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In brief

  • Vietnamese police have arrested a gang accused of being behind Matrix Chain, a crypto scam that defrauded investors of almost $400 million.
  • The operation saw “many elite officers and soldiers” working around the clock for 200 days.
  • The alleged pyramid scheme had over 185,000 registered accounts, funneling 394.2 million USDT through crypto wallets.

Police in Vietnam have arrested a gang accused of orchestrating a crypto scam that defrauded tens of thousands of people to the tune of almost $400 million (VND10 trillion).

“Many elite officers and soldiers” working around the clock for 200 days were involved in dismantling Matrix Chain, according to the ministry of public security.

It’s claimed victims were enticed with the promise of “super large profits” and healthy commissions, but officials said the token they ended up purchasing was worthless.

Four men and one woman—born between 1980 and 1991—have been detained, with detectives searching their properties and workplaces.

Officials claim a multi-level system spanning three regions in Vietnam was established, with misled investors told to pay a nominal fee of 1 USDT in order to download Matrix Chain’s software.

Of the money collected, about 40% was spent on “regional leaders” attempting to recruit new users and 5% was spent on marketing, with the remainder being used for lavish purchases.

Detectives said that the gang’s alleged ringleader, Nguyen Quoc Hung, considered buying houses, apartments and land in several Vietnamese cities.

Promotional events and training sessions were also launched on Telegram and Facebook—encouraging victims to make further deposits by setting them targets.

It’s estimated that Matrix Chain had more than 185,000 registered accounts, with 394.2 million USDT deposited and funneled through SafePal wallets.

A statement suggests that Hung confessed to contacting anonymous developers on Telegram to develop the platform on his behalf back in 2023—and paid $20,000.

It’s also alleged that he controlled a wallet containing 100 million MTC tokens along with a co-conspirator, and manipulated its market value to extract additional funds from victims.

According to the local news site VnExpress, dozens of alleged accomplices are now under investigation in relation to the pyramid scheme.

Research from Chainalysis last year showed Vietnam ranked fifth in the Global Crypto Adoption Index—dropping two places compared with 2023.

In March, Vietnamese Prime Minister Minister Phạm Minh Chính directed the country’s Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam to introduce a legal framework for digital assets, with a view to providing a “safer, more transparent environment for crypto transactions.”

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Big Scam Warning Comes From SHIB Team, Necessary Steps Revealed
Crypto Trends

Big Scam Warning Comes From SHIB Team, Necessary Steps Revealed

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The @susbarium X account has addressed the Shiba Inu community, giving them an important warning about a new scam project targeting SHIB enthusiasts.

This time, scammers are using a major Shiba Inu partner, the Bad Idea AI (BAD) project.

To secure SHIB holders, the post published by @susbarium contains signs that help to spot this scam and specific guidance on how to stay safe and secure one’s crypto from being stolen.

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Signs of new scam targeting SHIB army

The scam targets the community by impersonating SHIB’s partner, Bad Idea AI, by using a fake portal, offering to claim fake BAD token rewards. Scammers are trying to trick crypto holders into connecting their wallets under false pretexts.

🚨SCAM ALERT🚨

Stay vigilant! There’s a scam targeting our community through a fake claim portal for BAD token rewards. The fraudulent site is trying to trick users into connecting wallets under false pretences.

🔴 Signs of the Scam:
– Fake claim portal that mimics the… pic.twitter.com/epk9RJp59R

— Susbarium | Shibarium Trustwatch (@susbarium) May 27, 2025

The @susbarium social media post shared three additional signs of this scam. This portal mimics the design of the official BAD website. It requests that users connect their wallets to the platform to verify BAD rewards. The last sign is that this website issues “misleading messages suggesting eligibility verification before claiming tokens.”

Therefore, @susbarium warns, it is important not to connect wallets to suspicious crypto web sites. The second rule is the necessity to “verify official announcements from trusted sources before making transactions.”

The last recommendation is that it is important to report scams to SHIB community moderators and warn other SHIB holders as well.





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Illustration of a hooked email hovering over a mobile phone
Gaming Gear

This dangerous new phishing scam spoofs a top Google program to try and hack Facebook accounts

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  • KnowBe4 is warning of a new phishing campaign leveraging Google AppSheets’ workflow automation
  • The emails are spoofing Facebook and harvesting login credentials
  • The attackers can grab session tokens, as well

Cybercriminals are abusing a legitimate Google service to bypass email protection mechanisms and deliver phishing emails straight to people’s inboxes.

Cybersecurity researchers KnowBe4, who first spotted the attacks, have warned the crooks are using Google AppSheet, a no-code application development platform for mobile and web apps, and through its workflow automation were able to send emails using the “noreply@appsheet.com” address.

The phishing emails are mimicking Facebook, and are designed to trick people into giving away their login credentials, and 2FA codes, for the social media platform.


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2FA codes and session tokens

The emails, which were sent in-bulk and on a fairly large scale, were coming from a legitimate source, successfully bypassing Microsoft and Secure Email Gateways (SEGs) that rely on domain reputation and authentication checks (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).

Furthermore, since AppSheets can generate unique IDs, each email was slightly different, which also helped bypass traditional detection systems.

The emails themselves spoofed Facebook. The crooks tried to trick victims into thinking they infringed on someone’s intellectual property, and that their accounts were due to be deleted within 24 hours.

Unless, of course, they submit an appeal through a conveniently placed “Submit an Appeal” button in the email.

Clicking on the button leads the victim to a landing page impersonating Facebook, where they can provide their login credentials and 2FA codes, which are then relayed to the attackers.

The page is hosted on Vercel which, KnowBe4 says, is a “reputable platform known for hosting modern web applications”. This further strengthens the entire campaign’s credibility.

The attack has a few additional contingencies. The first attempt at logging in returns a “wrong password” result – not because the victim typed in the wrong credential – but in order to confirm the submission.

Also, the 2FA codes that are provided are immediately submitted to Facebook and in return – the crooks grab a session token which grants them persistence even after a password change.

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NFT Gaming

Crypto Investor Loses $2.5M by Copying Same Scam Address Twice

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Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

A crypto user has just lost more than $2.5 million in a simple copy-and-paste mistake. They tried to move 843,166 USDT to a safe wallet. Instead, they sent a chunk of it to the wrong address.

Then they did it again—this time sending $1.7 million to the same scammer. It’s a costly reminder that even small slips can erase fortunes.

Copy-Paste Blunder Leads To Million-Dollar Loss

According to on-chain records, the victim first moved $838,611 in USDT to the right address (0x4668D1Fe87444a4d750…). A moment later, they clicked the wrong entry in their transaction history.

That misstep cost them 843,166 USDT at current prices. They tried once more. And again the funds went to the scammer’s account—and another $1.7 million vanished.

Phishing scams remain a big problem. Image: Perkins School For The Blind

History Poisoning Trick Catches Many Off Guard

Based on reports from Scam Sniffer, scammers are using “transaction history poisoning” to pull off these cons. They send tiny “dust” transfers from look-alike addresses—just enough to clutter a wallet’s history.

🚨 Transaction History Poisoning:

1. Scammer sends fake/dust transfer with similar address
2. Their fake address appears in your history
3. You copy address from history thinking it’s legitimate
4. Funds get sent to scammer insteadhttps://t.co/S2lM8J8XWm

— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) May 26, 2025

When users scroll back through past transactions, they can’t tell the real address from the bogus one. Copy. Paste. Gone. In this case, the attack address (0x4668EE748c88DA4FEc…) looked almost identical to the real one. And it showed zero balance, adding to the confusion.

Phishing Scams Remain High

April’s phishing losses hit $5.29 million. That’s down 17% from March. But the number of victims climbed 26%, from 5,992 to 7,565 addresses. A single “whale” lost $1.43 million to a phishing signature. Back in March, the biggest haul was $1.82 million.

🚨 ScamSniffer April 2025 Phishing Report

April losses: $5.29M | 7,565 victims
VS March: -17% in losses | +26% in victims

Key insight: Notable spike in victim count despite lower total losses. Largest attack netted $1.43M via phishing, followed by $700K from address poisoning… pic.twitter.com/mJbGgGyGrN

— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) May 3, 2025

Total crypto market cap currently at $3.4 trillion. Chart: TradingView

April’s second-largest attack saw one user lose $700,000 after copying the wrong address. Another person sent $150,000 by mistake. And wallet 0xEFc4f1d5 alone lost over $467,000 in a similar copy-paste trap.

New Threats From EIP-7702 Upgrade

On May 24, the phishing gang Inferno Drainer used Ethereum’s new EIP-7702 rules to steal almost $150,000 in one hit. EIP-7702 lets regular accounts act like smart contracts for a moment.

The scammers guided victims to approve a batch of hidden token transfers through a delegated MetaMask setup. One click opened the door for a silent “execute” command that drained the wallets in seconds.

Greed Breeds Risk

Crypto markets are near $3.5 trillion in total value. Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high of $111,900 on May 22. Traders are chasing big gains. That rush makes urgent moves, and urgent moves invite mistakes.

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.





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Crypto Trends

Cambodia’s $19 Billion Financial Scam Empire Fueled by Crypto, Says Watchdog Group

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In brief

  • Cambodian officials are profiting from a $19B crypto-fueled scam industry involving trafficked labor, fraud compounds, and platforms such as Huione Guarantee, a report by Humanity Research Consultancy alleges.
  • Cambodia-based Huione has reportedly processed $24 billion via Telegram and launched its own stablecoin to bypass financial oversight.
  • Telegram recently banned Huione-linked accounts, as UN reports warn Cambodia has become a global hub for crypto-based fraud.

Cambodia’s ruling elite is entangled in a global scam economy powered by crypto, according to a new report that links senior government officials to billion-dollar laundering networks and platforms built to evade oversight.

High-ranking members of the Cambodian People’s Party have helped enable and profit from transnational fraud schemes that rely on trafficked labor and untraceable cryptocurrency, according to a May 16 report published by the Humanity Research Consultancy (HRC), an organization which campaigns against human trafficking.

One firm in particular, Huione Group, is singled out as critical infrastructure in what the report calls a “vertically integrated” scam industry now worth up to $19 billion a year, or 60% of Cambodia’s GDP.

“Cambodia is likely the absolute global epicentre of next-gen transnational fraud in 2025,” wrote Jacob Sims, the report’s author and a visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Asia Center.

Sims accuses the state of providing support “systematically and insidiously” to criminal networks operating behind scam compounds, human trafficking, and crypto rails.

Among those named is Hun To, cousin of Prime Minister Hun Manet, who sits on the board of Huione Group, parent company of Huione Guarantee, a Telegram-based escrow platform through which more than $4 billion has flowed since 2021, according to the U.S. Treasury. HRC also named Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Sar Sokha as a co-investor in one of Cambodia’s largest scam compounds.

Decrypt has reached out to the Minister’s office and will update the story if they respond.

A “focal point” for crypto scams

HRC’s findings align with a UNODC report released last month, which warned of Southeast Asia’s scam infrastructure spreading into Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.

The report named Cambodia as a key node in this global expansion, with syndicates relocating scam operations from Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh to rural provinces including Koh Kong, Bavet, and Pursat, where new compounds have been rapidly constructed since 2022.

HRC cites blockchain analytics firm Elliptic’s January report, which revealed that Huione had launched its own stablecoin, expanding its ability to process illicit payments while bypassing traditional financial channels.

“The scale of these operations makes Cambodia a focal point for crypto-based fraud globally,” Deddy Lavid, CEO of blockchain analytics platform Cyvers, told Decrypt.

Telegram recently banned channels and accounts associated with Haowang Guarantee, a rebranded Huione Guarantee, citing violations tied to fraud and money laundering.

What are pig butchering scams?

Huione Guarantee, had become central to laundering proceeds from romance scams, crypto investment fraud, and “pig butchering” operations targeting victims worldwide.

Pig butchering scams are where victims are emotionally groomed by fake romantic or business partners and ultimately convinced to invest large sums under false pretenses.

“Unfortunately, the use of crypto as the final payout method in pig butchering scams is widespread due to cryptocurrencies’ inherent characteristics: pseudonymity, ease of cross-border transfers, and lack of centralized control,” Lavid told Decrypt.

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Crypto investor loses $2.5M in stablecoins in double phishing scam
Crypto Trends

Crypto investor loses $2.5M in stablecoins in double phishing scam

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A single victim has been scammed two times within three hours, losing a total of $2.5 million in stablecoins.

According to data shared on May 26 by crypto compliance firm Cyvers, the victim sent 843,000 worth of USDt (USDT) followed by another 2.6 million USDt around three hours later. Cyvers said the scam used a method known as a zero-value transfer, a sophisticated form of onchain phishing.

Source: Cyvers Alert

Zero-value transfers are an onchain phishing technique that abuses token transfer functions to trick users into sending real funds to attackers. The attackers exploit the token transferFrom function to transfer zero tokens from the victim’s wallet to a spoofed address.

Since the amount transferred is zero, no signature by the victim’s private key is necessary for onchain inclusion. Consequently, the victims will see the outgoing transaction in their history.

The victim may trust this address since it is included in their transaction history, mistaking it as a known or safe recipient. They may then send real funds to the attacker’s address in a future transaction.

In one high-profile case, a scammer using zero transfer phishing attack managed to steal $20 million worth of USDT before getting blacklisted by the stablecoin’s issuer in the summer of 2023.

Related: Hackers using fake Ledger Live app to steal seed phrases and drain crypto

Advanced form of address poisoning

A Zero-value transfer is considered an evolution of address poisoning — a tactic where attackers send small amounts of cryptocurrency from a wallet address that closely resembles a victim’s real address, often with the same starting and ending characters. The goal is to trick the user into accidentally copying and reusing the attacker’s address in future transactions, resulting in lost funds.

The technique exploits how users often rely on partial address matching or clipboard history when sending crypto. Custom addresses with similar starting and ending characters can also be combined with zero-value transfers.

Related: Industry exec sounds alarm on Ledger phishing letter delivered by USPS

Threat growing across blockchains

A January 2025 study found that over 270 million poisoning attempts occurred on BNB Chain and Ethereum between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2024. Of those, 6,000 attempts were successful, leading to losses over $83 million.

The report follows crypto cybersecurity firm Trugard and onchain trust protocol Webacy announcing an artificial intelligence-based system for detecting crypto wallet address poisoning. The new tool purportedly has a success score of 97%, tested across known attack cases.

Magazine: Crypto scam hub expose stunt goes viral, Kakao detects 70K scam apps: Asia Express



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