The US Department of Justice has seized six virtual currency accounts containing more than $112m in funds stolen in cryptocurrency investment schemes. Judges in three districts in the US authorised the action. The DOJ’s next step is to return the stolen cryptocurrency to the victims.
Criminals behind cryptocurrency fraud scams, also known as pig butchering or cryptocurrency confidence scams, approach their victims via dating platforms, messaging apps or social media platforms, build trust, and introduce them to investment schemes.
They funnel all the funds that victims provide to cryptocurrency accounts under their control instead of investing them as promised. These scams have become increasingly sophisticated, and the criminals are now using psychological manipulation to lure more victims into parting with their money.
The FBI revealed in its 2022 Internet Crime Report that Americans lost over $3bn to investment fraud last year. Investment scam losses were the most common scheme reported to the IC3. Investment fraud complaints increased from $1.45bn in 2021 to $3.31bn in 2022, which is a 127% increase.
Within those complaints, cryptocurrency investment fraud rose from $907m in 2021 to $2.57bn in 2022, an increase of 183%. The FBI also warned in a public service announcement issued last month of a spike in pig butchering crypto investment schemes that resulted in over $2bn worth of cryptocurrency losses in 2022, according to US victims’ reports.
Financial fraud schemes like these demonstrate the great lengths criminals will take to swindle innocent victims out of their money.
The FBI continues to see these schemes evolve and provide new avenues for criminals to exploit. Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division added that the FBI’s unwavering commitment, alongside its federal and international law enforcement partners, is to investigate and pursue criminal actors who seek to defraud the American public.
There is no place beyond the reach of the FBI.
