Fake Crypto Exchanges Targeted by Hong Kong's SFC

Hong Kong's financial regulatory body, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), has uncovered and halted counterfeit websites posing as prominent local cryptocurrency exchanges.

On March 4, the SFC issued an official caution regarding multiple dubious websites masquerading as two licensed crypto trading platforms. These online offenders established numerous fraudulent domains mimicking two licensed exchanges in Hong Kong, namely OSL Digital Securities and Hash Blockchain Limited, also known as HashKey.

As per the announcement, the SFC blocked a total of six websites, including hskexpro.com, hskex.com, hskexs.com, hskexit.com, oslexu.com, and oslint.com. This action followed reports of challenges with fund withdrawals and exorbitant fees and commissions for withdrawals.

Upon the SFC's request, the Hong Kong Police Force has intervened to prevent access to the identified websites.

These websites are cataloged on the SFC's official crypto alert list alongside other counterfeit websites impersonating different crypto exchanges like MEXC. The SFC previously blacklisted eight domains impersonating MEXC on Feb. 9.

The regulator emphasized, "Investors should refrain from sending money or engaging in transactions until verifying the identity of the counterparty."

Bartosz Barwikowski, a layer-1 security expert at the blockchain security firm Hacken, highlighted the challenge of distinguishing between genuine and fake websites. He pointed out that this task may be especially tricky for users visiting a website for the first time.

This development follows shortly after the SFC closed the latest round of the licensing cycle for crypto exchanges on February 29. Crypto exchanges that did not register or submit applications by the specified date must cease operations in the region within three months.