FBI Investigates $5 Million Crypto Romance Scam in ‘Pig Butchering’ Scheme
The FBI is stepping up its focus on identifying the perpetrators of a cryptocurrency romance scam that caused losses amounting to $5 million to its victims.
The said scheme, which is also referred to as pig butchering, involves con artists feigning romantic interest in their prey but afterward developing serious relationships with them for the purpose of scamming. After winning trust, the criminals offer a phony investment scheme, persuading the victim to put money on false cryptocurrency exchanges.
Targeting the Weakest Points
It was revealed that the scheme has caused immense pain and suffering to at least seventy-one MH practitioners in N. C. Out of these, two were Asian: one was a 60-year-old woman from Angier and the other was an 83-year-old Asian living in Minnesota. The con artists adopted fictitious names and also used social media sites such as WhatsApp to contact their victims and create sympathy for them in order to deceive them.
One of the platforms used in this scam was Bitkanant, a counterfeit trading platform designed to imitate the legitimate Singapore-based Bitkan exchange. Once victims transferred their funds, often in the form of Tether (USDT), the scammers severed all communication, leaving the victims devastated.
Seizing Illicit Funds
In August, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced the seizure of nearly $5 million worth of Tether. These funds were linked to addresses suspected of laundering proceeds from these cryptocurrency scams.
Americans are losing their life savings to these fraudulent schemes, with funds quickly transferred overseas,” stated U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “In one instance, a victim lost their entire individual retirement account.
We are committed to recovering every possible dollar and returning it to the victims, even when criminals operate from abroad.”
Alarming Trends in Crypto Fraud
In the report by the FBI for the month of September, it was reported that the use of cryptocurrency for fraudulent activities is on the increase, with losses that have exceeded 5.6 billion dollars in the year 2023. The elderly demographic aged sixty years and above has been noted as the most susceptible to such scams, which are quite advanced in nature.
The money that was frozen is now in the safekeeping of U.S. Marshals Service while the FBI’s investigation is ongoing to figure out the masterminds of the operation.
This case is a reminder that we should be observant, as even emotions and trust are misused by fraudsters to execute financial crimes, most of which often leave a huge toll on people financially and emotionally.
- Published By Team Nation Press News
