HuiOne Guarantee: Catalyst of Cyber Scams in Southeast Asia

Cryptocurrency analysts have recently brought attention to HuiOne Guarantee, an online marketplace widely utilized by cybercriminals in Southeast Asia, particularly those associated with pig butchering scams. The British blockchain analytics firm Elliptic has revealed that merchants on this platform offer a range of services including technology, data, and money laundering, with transactions totalling at least $11 billion.

Southeast Asia, encompassing countries like Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines, has become a hotspot for pig butchering scams in recent years. In these schemes, unsuspecting individuals from Asia and Africa are lured with promises of high-paying jobs, only to be trapped in “scam compounds” run by transnational organized crime groups from China. These victims are coerced into participating in fraudulent activities, creating fake accounts on social media and dating platforms to develop romantic relationships with targets, and eventually persuading them to invest in non-existent crypto businesses.

HuiOne Guarantee is part of the HuiOne Group, a Cambodian conglomerate linked to Cambodia's ruling Hun family. Another business within the group, HuiOne International Payments, is reportedly involved in laundering scam proceeds globally. According to HuiOne's website, its financial services arm boasts 500,000 registered users and lists prominent clients such as Alipay, Huawei, PayGo Wallet, UnionPay, and Yes Seatel.

Established in 2021, HuiOne Guarantee operates through a network of thousands of instant messaging app channels on Telegram, managed by various merchants. Although it purports to serve as a marketplace for real estate and cars, Elliptic indicates that the majority of goods and services offered are intended for cyber scam operators. The firm has identified that the largest category of merchants on HuiOne Guarantee involves those offering money movement and exchange services. These merchants explicitly provide money laundering services, which include accepting payments from victims worldwide, transferring money across borders, and converting it into other assets such as cash, stablecoins, and Chinese payment apps.

Merchants on HuiOne Guarantee also advertise software and web development services that facilitate the creation of scam crypto investment websites used in pig butchering scams. Additionally, they market tear gas, electric batons, and electronic shackles for use by scam compound operators to imprison and torture their workers. Data shared by SlowMist earlier this year indicates that merchants associated with HuiOne Guarantee, also known as Huiwang Guarantee, have engaged in cryptocurrency transactions with a wallet that received more than 4.6 million USDT from another wallet linked to the Myanmar Alliance Army.

Elliptic's findings suggest that the value of cryptocurrency received by HuiOne Guarantee and its merchants, along with the types of goods and services offered, indicate that it is a crucial enabler of cyber scam operations in Southeast Asia. The intricate network and significant financial transactions underscore the platform's role in facilitating and perpetuating fraudulent activities in the region.

This exposé on HuiOne Guarantee highlights the need for increased vigilance and regulatory measures to combat the pervasive threat of cyber scams. By shedding light on the operations of such platforms, authorities and financial institutions can better understand and disrupt the networks that enable these illicit activities, ultimately protecting potential victims and upholding the integrity of the financial ecosystem.