Elliptic Uncovers Fraudulent Online Marketplace with $11 Billion in Cryptocurrency Transactions

The online marketplace Huione Guarantee, widely used by fraudsters in Southeast Asia, has processed cryptocurrency transactions amounting to at least $11 billion, according to researchers at Elliptic.

A new investigation from the Elliptic research team sheds light on online marketplace Huione Guarantee. The platform is widely used by scam operators in South East Asia, including those involved in #pigbutchering scams. Read the full analysis ➡️ https://t.co/p9tqquGhJ6

— Elliptic (@elliptic) July 10, 2024

The platform is part of the Huione Group conglomerate, owned by Cambodia’s ruling Hun family. It was established in 2021 as a marketplace for legitimate goods like real estate or cars. However, most listings on the marketplace target cyber fraud operators.

Huione Guarantee is a Chinese-language ecosystem consisting of thousands of messaging channels managed by individual merchants. The largest category of these merchants offers money transfer and laundering services.

Another category of traders offers goods and services for executing “pig butchering” schemes, where victims are lured into investing cryptocurrency, which is then stolen. This includes creating fraudulent websites, telecommunications equipment, personal data for finding future victims, and AI-based software for creating deepfakes.

In the region, “fraudulent compounds” are widely used for these scams, particularly prevalent in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. They often resemble prisons where workers are held in slave-like conditions.

Elliptic experts found advertisements on Huione Guarantee for goods used by the owners of such enterprises to keep employees in line. This includes tear gas, electric batons, and electronic bracelets that deliver shocks when leaving a designated area.

Analysis revealed that more than $11 billion has flowed into the cryptocurrency wallets of the marketplace and merchants since 2021. Experts believe this figure is not final, and the overwhelming majority of the funds are linked to illegal activities.

Earlier, Elliptic noted an increase in the use of AI technologies in cybercrime.