*Be careful if you want to make any investment, otherwise you will get scammed."
The Department of Justice (DOJ) of the United States (US) was able to thwart a fake cryptocurrency investment scheme by seizing six accounts containing digital assets worth $112 million after getting approval from Judges in the District of Arizona, the Central District of California and the District of Idaho.
According to documents filed in the case, criminals found victims online and persuaded them to invest cash in a fake crypto trading platform, where their cash would be sent to an account controlled by the criminal's partner.
The action can be defined as a transnational criminal organization that combines fraud with technology to deceive US citizens, said assistant attorney general Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice.
For the record, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported that the public lost $3.31 billion in investment scams in 2022 as crypto fraud represented the majority of such schemes.
The FBI says victims aged 30 to 49 are among the most likely to lose funds in crypto investment schemes as criminals target their victims through social networks and online communication platforms such as dating websites, phone calls and messages.
After gaining the victim's trust over a period of months, the criminal will drive them to a crypto investment website or his criminal partner posing as a customer service or investment guru.
Generally, the criminals build a mobile app just like a native trading platform that can be accessed using a crypto wallet and they show significant profits but it's just plain fake.
Next, to further strengthen the victim's trust, they are given the option to withdraw part of their initial income, but victims who make large investments cannot withdraw their funds at all.
