On March 10, California Attorney General Rob Bonta released news of shutting down 42 allegedly fake cryptocurrency websites in 2024 that scammed victims out of at least $6.5 million. The scams supposedly issued an average loss per person of $146,306. According to the attorney general, these scams — referred to as “pig-butchering” scams — involve scammers building trust with consumers through social media or random messages, leading them to invest in fraudulent websites that falsely show fabricated returns to entice further investment. When consumers attempt to withdraw their funds, they find the websites are fake, and the scammers have absconded with their money.
The California DFPI concurrently posted about the action, noting that through the collaboration, the state has successfully shut down over 26 scam websites, uncovering $4.6 million in consumer losses. The DFPI identified seven new scam types based on 2,668 complaints submitted by Californians and U.S. consumers in 2024. The release also noted the importance of consumers reporting scams to the DFPI, which has led to an increase in alerts and visitors to the Crypto Scam Tracker. This tracker provides a searchable database of scam reports and includes a glossary of fraud tactics. New fraudulent schemes include bitcoin mining scams, crypto gaming scams, crypto job scams, wallet drainer attacks, giveaway scams, investment group scams, and AI investment scams.