Taipei 3 In-Person Crypto Robbery Cases in 4 Days! Scammers Use "Fee-Free" Tactics to Deceive Residents, Police Urge Use of Legitimate Exchanges

Four days in Taipei City have seen three cryptocurrency face-to-face robbery cases! The criminals lure victims into private transactions by claiming to avoid fees and then rob them. Police urge the public to only buy and sell through legitimate domestic exchanges to ensure safety.

Frequent Cryptocurrency Robbery Cases in Taipei City, Suspect Methods Revealed

Are you still meeting people in person to exchange Tether ($USDT)? According to reports from TVBS and United News Network, Taipei City experienced three consecutive cryptocurrency robberies within just four days, occurring in Shilin District, Datong District, and Wenshan District.

The Taipei Criminal Investigation Division analyzed and found that criminal groups usually contact victims on social media platforms like Facebook, LINE, and Telegram using tactics such as fee-free currency exchange, quick withdrawals, and high-return investments. Once victims are lured in, the suspects disguise their schemes as internal projects, confidential transactions, or exclusive exchanges for regular customers, asking victims to bring cash to a designated location for face-to-face exchange, deliberately bypassing formal trading platforms or financial institutions.

Although police investigations show these three cases are not directly connected, the suspects involved are generally young, including minors.

Police assess that the mastermind behind these crimes may be using tactics similar to those of scam groups controlling juvenile runners, targeting minors because they face lighter penalties and are easier to manipulate, encouraging them to carry out fake transactions that turn into real robberies.

Image source: Texas Criminal Lawyer authorized image illustrating cryptocurrency robbery cases

Criminals Targeting Regulatory Evasion, Encouraging Private Transactions

Due to anti-money laundering measures, the Financial Supervisory Commission has implemented regulations prohibiting illegal currency dealers and cash transactions, and has issued licenses for legitimate virtual asset service providers (VASPs), making cryptocurrency trading compliant and traceable. However, some individuals still take risks for convenience.

Suspects exploit this by claiming fee-free exchanges, quick withdrawals, and designating personal traders for face-to-face transactions. Some even emphasize privacy and security, targeting victims who wish to avoid tax authorities, promising no trace of fund flow. After convincing victims to meet, suspects may use violence to rob or demand additional payments under various pretexts when victims withdraw profits.

Illegal currency dealers use AI-generated content, spreading panic in communities to divert traffic

Besides physical robberies, online communities also see chaos with individuals encouraging private transactions.

Some personal traders use AI tools to create大量矩陣號 (massive matrix accounts), spreading panic on social platforms and urging people to avoid domestic legitimate exchanges to evade taxes or fees.

These accounts even spread false rumors about uncontrollable deposits and withdrawals at Taiwan’s legitimate exchanges, exaggerating platform risk controls. Many of these accounts are linked to illegal cash exchange groups, attempting to lure unaware users into unregulated private trading channels.

Related reports:
Threads reports大量AI矩陣號! Redirecting traffic to illegal currency dealers, Chain Observation Station, Binance also responded

Taiwan dollar deposit and withdrawal chaos? Beware of being told not to use exchanges, while actually promoting personal traders

Police Urge Use of Legitimate Platforms, Currently 8 Licensed VASPs

In response to frequent cryptocurrency scams and robberies, police remind the public to conduct transactions through legal and compliant channels.

According to Article 6 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, entities or individuals that have not completed AML registration are not allowed to provide virtual asset services. The Financial Supervisory Commission has also published a list of legitimate operators for public reference.

《Crypto City》 reports that after Hong Zhu Digital announced it will cease operations by the end of January 2026, the number of virtual asset providers on the domestic list has decreased. The remaining legitimate virtual asset service providers (listed in order of strokes) are:

• HOYA Digital Technology (HOYA BIT)
• ZONE Wallet Digital Technology
• MaiCoin and MAX Exchange (Modern Wealth Technology)
• KryptoGO (Weight Technology)
• TWEX (Fusheng Digital Technology)
• Chainss (Cross-Chain Technology)
• BitoPro (BitoPro Technology)
• XREX (XREX Corporation)

Further reading:
Can deposits interact with Edge Law? Star Vaults Exchange suspected of multiple issues, recruiting in Taiwan but not listed as VASP