Hsinchu prosecutors indicted 12 people Tuesday on fraud and money-laundering charges after police said a rented office posed as a licensed foreign-exchange desk to lure victims into cryptocurrency transfers in a pig-butchering scheme.
Investigators alleged the group contacted targets through dating apps and messaging platforms, built trust over weeks, then directed them to deposit Taiwan dollars through convenience-store codes before converting funds into virtual assets controlled by ringleaders overseas.
How the operation worked
Police said the call center used scripted sales pitches copied from legitimate brokerage marketing materials, complete with fake profit screenshots. Workers rotated SIM cards purchased in bulk to evade carrier fraud filters, according to a briefing by the Hsinchu City Police Bureau's criminal investigation unit.
Officers seized 46 computers, 120 mobile phones, and ledgers showing more than NT$38 million moved through local accounts in two months. Prosecutors said bank compliance teams flagged unusual clustering of transfers to the same digital-wallet addresses, triggering the raid last month.
Charges and custody
The Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office charged four alleged managers with organizing the ring and eight recruiters with assisting fraud. Judges ordered nine defendants held incommunicado while three were released on bail with travel restrictions, prosecutors said in a written statement.
Authorities reminded the public that legitimate forex dealers publish Financial Supervisory Commission licenses online. Any investment that demands secrecy or forbids withdrawals through regulated banks should be treated as a scam, police said.
Regional coordination
The case was forwarded to a cross-border task force that shares wallet addresses with Southeast Asian partners. Officials said tracing will continue even as chat lines go dark, because blockchain analytics firms retained copies of wallet tags spotted during the raid.
Victim support centers urged anyone who sent money to the group to preserve chat logs and store receipts. Compensation is uncertain, counselors said, but early reports improve the odds that frozen accounts can be linked to restitution orders.
Local context
Victim counselors staffed an overnight hotline for people who recognized chat scripts described in the police briefing.
Officials said they will publish another update after the Double Ten holiday, when agencies return to normal staffing and contractors can resume noisy work without conflicting with downtown ceremonies. Residents can sign up for text alerts through city portals if they want construction or traffic notices pushed to their phones.
Local context
Analysts and community groups said they will watch whether follow-up announcements match the timelines described in Tuesday briefings.
Officials said they will publish another update after the Double Ten holiday, when agencies return to normal staffing and contractors can resume noisy work without conflicting with downtown ceremonies. Residents can sign up for text alerts through city portals if they want construction or traffic notices pushed to their phones.