Beth Hyland defrauded $26,000 via romance scam on Tinder

Summary

A Cambodia-based gang linked to North Korea, known as the Huione Group, has been involved in romance scams and cyber-heists targeting Americans since August 2021, stealing at least $4 billion through schemes like "pig butchering." The group facilitated these scams through social media, dating sites, and cryptocurrency investments, with $37 million directly supporting North Korean cyber activities and $336 million from romance and investment fraud. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a crackdown, proposing a federal rule to cut off the group’s access to the U.S. financial system. One victim, Beth Hyland, lost $26,000 to a scammer on Tinder who manipulated her into sending money via bitcoin ATMs. In response, lawmakers introduced the Romance Scam Prevention Act to require dating apps to notify users of potential fraud. The Treasury designated Huione Group under Section 311 of the PATRIOT Act due to its failure to implement proper anti-money laundering policies.