Google has filed a lawsuit against two alleged cryptocurrency scammers who it said uploaded 87 different fraudulent apps and carried out other activities in the pursuit of romance scams that have affected more than 100,000 people.
The developers, based in mainland China and Hong Kong, allegedly uploaded 87 apps that were downloaded by more than 100,000 people and defrauded targets of sums up to tens of thousands of dollars.
Apps uploaded by the pair and associates have targeted users since at least 2019, posing as legitimate cryptocurrency investment platforms, but in reality set up to steal funds, Google said in its lawsuit, filed in New York federal court.
The scams allegedly operated by Yunfeng Sun in Shenzhen and Hongnam Cheung in Hong Kong are part of the rising trend of “pig-butchering” schemes, known as such in reference to the process of fattening a pig before slaughtering it.
Financial fraud
Such scams involve forming relationships or romances with a target, then convincing them to invest funds in a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme.
The two…
