Tether said it assisted authorities by freezing the scammers’ wallets, aiding in the “quick recovery” of the stolen cryptocurrencies.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves said “typically” the scammers and their accounts are located overseas, making recovery difficult.
“In these scams, scammers trick American citizens into believing they are transferring funds to cryptocurrency investment opportunities when, in fact, they are simply unwittingly handing their money over to the scammers,” he said.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, victims of these scams are approached through a variety of means, such as misdirected text messages, dating apps, and investment groups.
After gaining the users’ trust, the scammers recommend a cryptocurrency investment but direct them to investment platforms hosted on fraudulent websites that mimic legitimate ones.
Some of the scam platforms may appear to offer lucrative returns and allow temporary withdrawals, but behind the scenes, all deposits are directed to a wallet address controlled by scammers.
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FBI Criminal Investigation Division Deputy Director Chad Yarbrough said cryptocurrency investment scams like the one he just uncovered are “devastating” and affect thousands of Americans daily.