Cape Town Cracks Down on Crypto Fraud, Police Seize Luxury Cars with Fake License Plates

Odaily Planet Daily News: Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis recently participated in a nighttime special police operation targeting individuals claiming to be cryptocurrency and forex traders who were driving luxury vehicles with fake or no license plates. During the operation, police seized a silver Mercedes-AMG GLE worth over $153,000, which was falsely registered as a white BMW, and arrested a driver operating an unregistered BMW 3-Series. Local officials stated that fraudulent crypto syndicates use TikTok to showcase assets and use luxury cars as status symbols to lure victims into fake investments. A report released in March revealed that corporate-style scam centers run by international crime syndicates have formed clusters in Cape Town and Johannesburg, using deepfakes, cloned apps, and fake investment platforms to commit fraud. Related illegal funds are typically laundered through cryptocurrency wallets, money mules, and physical assets such as unlicensed high-end vehicles. (Bitcoin.com News).