FBI Cracks Down on Southeast Asian Crypto Scams Targeting U.S. Citizens

Millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrencies were recently taken from Southeast Asian con artists preying on American citizens by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Because of these fraudulent schemes’ false cryptocurrency investment offers, victims have lost a substantial amount of money.

The FBI said on social media site X that it has apprehended $6 million in digital assets from these fraudulent individuals from Southeast Asia. Through the use of crypto confidence scams, the con artists fooled Americans into believing they could make large returns on their investments.

Chad Yarbrough, from the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, emphasized the impact of these crimes: “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.” He added, “The seizure of millions of dollars is proof the FBI will stop at nothing to find these fraudsters who insist on taking advantage of the American public.”

Crypto Scams and How They Work

Scammers tend to initiate crypto confidence scams by reaching out to their victims via text messages, professional groups on dating apps, or even professional groups. Over time, the con artists establish credibility, eventually persuading the victims to transfer their money to phony cryptocurrency websites. By permitting victims to take small early returns, the con artists encourage victims to make larger investments until, at some point, they lock them out of their accounts, giving the scammers a false sense of legitimacy.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) claims that the victims’ deposits were not invested as promised. Rather, the funds were moved to wallets under the crooks’ authority. The $6 million in stolen money was found by the FBI after they were able to track down many bitcoin wallets.

U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves addressed the situation, saying, “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.”