FBI Takes $6M From Crypto Fraudsters Targeting US Citizens
Authorities have seized more than $6 million worth of cryptocurrency from wallets linked to fraudsters linked to Southeast Asia, targeting U.S. citizens in trust investment schemes.
On September 26, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia reported that the scam involved “one or more individuals” misled into believing they were investing in legitimate crypto enterprises when they lost millions of dollars.
The FBI tracked the stolen funds through blockchain and found multiple crypto wallet addresses that contained more than $6 million of victims' digital assets.
Source: FBI
Tether claims it helped authorities by freezing the fraudsters' wallets, aiding in the “rapid recovery” of the stolen crypto.
District of Columbia Attorney Matthew Graves said “typically” the fraudsters and their accounts are located overseas, making recovery difficult.
“In these scams, fraudsters trick US citizens into believing they are transferring money to cryptocurrency investment opportunities, when in fact, they are unknowingly handing over their money to the fraudsters,” he said.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, victims of these scams are approached in a variety of ways, including fake text messages, dating applications and investment groups.
After gaining the trust of users, fraudsters recommend crypto investments but direct them to investment platforms hosted on fraudulent websites that look like legitimate ones.
Some scam platforms may appear to offer lucrative returns and allow temporary withdrawals. Behind the scenes, all deposits are transferred to wallet addresses controlled by fraudsters.
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According to Chad Yarborough, Assistant Director of the FBI's Criminal Investigation Division, crypto investment scams like the one they discovered are “devastating” and affect thousands of Americans every day.
“The FBI has seen victims lose millions of dollars, take out second and third mortgages on their homes, all in hopes of finding the next big investment opportunity,” he said.
According to the FBI's Annual Crypto Fraud Report for 2023, 71% of crypto fraud reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) was related to investment fraud.
Investment fraud is the most reported crypto fraud and has seen the most reported losses, with more than $3.9 billion stolen by fraudsters.
Last year, the FBI received many complaints about crypto investment scams that saw billions in losses. Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
In the report, the FBI said it received complaints from more than 200 countries, but most of the complaints and losses came from the US.
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