Authorities have seized more than $6 million in cryptocurrency from the wallets of Southeast Asian scammers who defrauded U.S. citizens with investment schemes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said victims lost millions of dollars after believing the crypto investments were legitimate.
The FBI tracked the funds on the blockchain and, using Tether, froze the scammers’ wallets, speeding up the recovery of the stolen funds. The scammers used fake investment platforms and tricked victims into using dating apps and misdirected messages.
The FBI notes that such crypto scams cause huge losses to Americans every day, with many losing their savings and even mortgaging their homes in hopes of profit. In 2023, investment schemes became the leading form of crypto fraud, accounting for $3.9 billion in stolen funds.
