Crypto Con Artist: How a Fake Japanese Bride Wiped Out a Korean Man’s Life Savings
Romance meets ransomware in this digital-age heist.
Subheader: The Sweetheart Scam That Turned Sour
A South Korean investor learned the hard way that love—and crypto—can be brutally transactional. What began as a cross-border romance quickly unraveled into a sophisticated crypto drain, leaving zero satoshis behind.
Subheader: Exit Liquidity in Disguise
The 'bride' deployed textbook social engineering: fake documents, emotional manipulation, and just enough blockchain jargon to sound legit. By the time the victim realized his wallet was being emptied, the perpetrator had already bridged the funds through three different chains.
Subheader: Regulatory Blind Spots
Authorities face jurisdictional whack-a-mole as these scams exploit regulatory gaps between Asia's financial hubs. Meanwhile, crypto exchanges keep collecting fees—whether the money's clean or not.
Closer: Another cautionary tale proving that in crypto, the most volatile asset isn't BTC—it's human trust. (And yes, the 'bride' is still at large, probably buying NFTs with his life savings.)
Fear of Losing ‘Bride’ Drove Korean Man into Scam
Though initially hesitant due to his lack of experience with digital assets, the man feared losing her affection and agreed to an initial investment of 200,000 won.
After seeing what appeared to be quick profits and successful withdrawals, his confidence grew, leading him to invest larger sums.
Over several weeks, his total investment ballooned to more than 105 million won.
However, the woman soon began demanding further payments, insisting his profits were subject to a steep 5 percent daily tax.
When he could no longer meet her escalating demands, she cut off contact and vanished.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) reportedly warned against the dangers of romance scams involving cryptocurrency, stressing that victims often hesitate to question financial requests from someone they believe is a romantic partner.
Scammers commonly pose as foreigners expressing interest in marriage, later sending links to fraudulent exchanges and pressuring victims into sending money.
My female friends have gotten romance scammed 6 figures and I’m like how and why it’s just crazy but yes it’s goes both ways can’t believe people fall for it
Authorities reminded the public that VIRTUAL asset exchanges must register with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit to legally operate in Korea.
Many unregistered platforms are scams designed to steal deposits, and officials urged caution with any investment opportunity introduced through dating apps or social media.
The FSS plans to intensify efforts against crypto-related romance scams, including a nationwide campaign in the second half of the year aimed at improving public awareness and reducing the number of victims falling prey to such schemes.
Crypto Hacks, Scams Cost Investors $2.2B in H1 2025: CertiK
Crypto investors lost over $2.2 billion to hacks, scams, and breaches in the first half of 2025, driven largely by wallet compromises and phishing attacks, according to CertiK’s latest security report.
Wallet breaches alone caused $1.7 billion in losses across just 34 incidents, while phishing scams accounted for over $410 million across 132 attacks.
Two major incidents, including Bybit’s $1.5 billion hack in February and Cetus Protocol’s $225 million exploit in May, skewed the year’s losses upward, together accounting for nearly $1.78 billion.
Without these, losses align more closely with previous years at around $690 million.
Ethereum remained the primary target, suffering over $1.6 billion in losses across 175 events.
The report also pointed to rising sophistication of phishing schemes and ongoing risks from social engineering, urging crypto users to verify links, avoid suspicious sites, and use hardware wallets.
