Huione Guarantee: A Hub for Online Scams
Huione Guarantee, an online financial platform based in Cambodia, has been identified as a key player in the global scam economy, facilitating various fraudulent activities amounting to billions of dollars. The platform, connected to Cambodia’s ruling Hun family, provides deposit and escrow services for peer-to-peer transactions conducted through the Telegram messaging system.
According to Wired and research from Elliptic, Huione Guarantee’s marketplace offers a range of illicit services, including pig-butchering scams, deepfake scams, and money laundering schemes. Pig butchering scams involve luring victims into relationships before financially exploiting them.
Users predominantly utilize USDT, a popular stablecoin, for transactions on the platform. Elliptic, a crypto-tracing firm, has been able to trace fund flows through the blockchain due to the nature of USDT transactions.
Tom Robinson, the cofounder and chief scientist of Elliptic, stated that while the original purpose of Huione Guarantee might have been different, it has now become a marketplace primarily catering to online scammers.
Despite attempts to reach out to Huione Guarantee officials, communication channels such as Telegram addresses were closed, and emails went unanswered. The platform’s association with the Hun family, particularly Hun Manet, raised concerns about its legitimacy.
The disclaimer on the Huione Guarantee website emphasizes that the platform acts as a guarantor for transactions without involvement in the specifics of customers’ businesses.
In response to the prevalence of online scams, a coalition named ‘Tech Against Scams’ was formed by major companies in May to protect users from fraudulent activities.
USDT’s usage in money laundering was highlighted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) earlier in the year. Tether, the issuer of USDT, defended the stablecoin against accusations, emphasizing that it had been unfairly singled out.
It is crucial for blockchain analysts and companies to not only report findings but also take necessary actions to prevent and intervene in illicit activities rather than just observing and documenting them for social media engagement.