It seems that scammers are using the downfall of crypto markets to benefit themselves.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, also known as the FBI, has informed the public about a $42.7 million worth of frauds through fake crypto apps.
According to the official warning issued on July 18, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified a number of fraud cases against crypto investors. FBI notes that in one case, scammers used apps with identical names, logos, and other information of actual U.S. financial institutions to lure investors into a trap.
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The scams would get into full swing after users would attempt to withdraw their assets. During the period from December 2021 to May 2022, scammers managed to steal approximately $3.7 million from 28 victims.
In the official advisory, the FBI informs that scammers asked users to pay fake taxes for their withdrawal. 13 out of 28 investors paid those additional taxes but never saw their assets again.
Another scheme uncovered by the FBI was under the app name Supay. The Bureau managed to identify two victims, which were encouraged to keep their assets in the company's digital wallets. The scammers froze the assets of investors and claimed that they would not be available until more funds were added to their wallets.
The last identified tax scheme occurred on an app called YiBit. The investors were lured to download the app and keep their assets in the app's digital wallets. In the case of withdrawal, as in the previous example, users would be asked to pay fake taxes. Using this method, scammers stole $5.5 million from 4 people during the time from October 2021 to May 2022.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations recommends investors remain alert to requests from unknown individuals about downloading various apps, verify the legitimacy of the application before downloading, and most importantly, treat any applications with a hint of skepticism.
The Bureau encourages everyone not to hesitate and report suspicious or criminal actions regarding crypto exchanges to the local FBI office.
