Seoul police say a fake staking site running for just 8 days in Oct. 2025 took 3.4M XRP from 71 investors. Wallet traces suggest total losses could reach $18.8M.
Crypto Crime News
A group of fraudsters built a fake staking website using the identity of a real blockchain project and ran it for eight days in October 2025.
Seoul police announced on July 30, 2026, that the site took 3.4 million XRP worth 12.3 billion Korean won ($8.5 million) from 71 investors before the operators disappeared.
The site, Fxrpntwork(dot)com, went live on Oct. 16 and shut down on Oct. 23. During that window, the operators told investors they would receive monthly returns of 1.5% to 1.8% with their principal guaranteed. Victims were directed to move funds off domestic exchanges, route them through overseas platforms, and deposit them into wallets the group controlled.
Three of the four suspects have been taken into custody. Two men, both 29 years old, have been referred to prosecutors on aggravated fraud charges. A third suspect, also 29, was arrested at a domestic hideout after returning from abroad. A fourth remains overseas, and police have requested an Interpol Red Notice for that individual. None of the four have been publicly identified, and no trial has taken place.
Fake Content Built a False Paper Trail
The group did not rely solely on the website to attract victims. Operators planted false information on Naver blogs, online news articles, and Wikipedia to make the project appear legitimate. They also paid a 34-year-old individual to appear in YouTube videos presenting the project as real. That person has since been charged with fraud. Police said the scheme was timed deliberately to follow the actual launch of the FXRP token the month prior, allowing the fraudulent site to benefit from real media coverage of the genuine project.
An overseas cryptocurrency exchange alerted Seoul police last October to an unusual spike in staking fraud activity. That tip triggered the investigation. Investigators then executed 54 search and seizure warrants over the course of the case.
Investigators traced 27.3 billion won ($18.8 million) through wallets linked to the operation. They froze 17.3 billion won of those assets. Approximately 10 billion won was moved during the investigation and has not been recovered. Police said the gap between the 12.3 billion won confirmed as stolen from the 71 known victims and the total amount traced through linked wallets points to additional victims and higher total losses than the current figures reflect.
Related Article: Crypto Hack Losses Passed $1B in H1 2026, Blockaid Reports
Flare Network Unconnected to Fraud
Flare Network (FLR), the project the fraudsters impersonated, is a legitimate and separate blockchain. It launched in early 2023 and reported more than $160 million in total value locked as of late March 2026. The network had over 887,000 active addresses at that time and has no connection to the fraudulent website.
A Seoul police official said the department would apply a zero-tolerance policy to cryptocurrency fraud. Authorities urged investors to verify any staking opportunity through official sources before transferring funds. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimated in January 2026 that global crypto scam and fraud losses reached approximately $17 billion in 2025. Chainalysis also noted that criminal groups increasingly relied on impersonation tactics and AI tools to scale their operations and target more victims.
This article contains links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of CoinMarketCap, and CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. CoinMarketCap is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by CoinMarketCap of the site or any association with its operators. This article is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. It is important to do your own research and analysis before making any material decisions related to any of the products or services described. This article is not intended as, and shall not be construed as, financial advice. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s [company’s] own and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinMarketCap.
