tl;dr
The FBI has seized $6 million worth of crypto assets from Southeast Asian scammers targeting US citizens in crypto confidence schemes. Victims were lured into depositing funds into fraudulent crypto websites with promises of bogus returns, only to have their investments locked and funds moved to the...
The FBI has seized $6 million worth of crypto assets from Southeast Asian scammers targeting US citizens in crypto confidence schemes. Victims were lured into depositing funds into fraudulent crypto websites with promises of bogus returns, only to have their investments locked and funds moved to the scammers' wallets.
Crypto confidence schemes involve bad actors contacting victims through dating apps, text messages, or professional meet-up groups. These scammers gain their victims’ trust before luring them to deposit their funds into fraudulent crypto websites using promises of bogus returns.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) emphasizes the impact on American citizens and vows to recover the proceeds of these frauds, despite the scammers being located outside the US. The FBI says it was able to locate “multiple cryptocurrency wallet addresses” holding $6 million worth of victim funds.
Says Chad Yarbrough of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, “These types of schemes are devastating, and they’re impacting thousands of Americans every day. The FBI has seen victims lose millions of dollars, take second and third mortgages on their homes, all in the hopes of finding the next big investment opportunity.”
As stated by US Attorney Matthew M. Graves, “In these scams, fraudsters trick US citizens into believing they are transferring funds to cryptocurrency investment opportunities when, in fact, they are just unwittingly turning their money over to the fraudsters. The fact these fraudsters and their accounts are typically located outside the United States will not stop us or our partners at the FBI from doing all we can to recover the proceeds of these frauds and to hold the people running them accountable.”