Cryptocurrency scams cost Americans more than $5.6B last year: FBI
The FBI announced on Monday, Sept. 9, that Americans lost more than $5.6 billion in cryptocurrency scams in 2023.
Straight Arrow News
- An Athens man lost over $70,000 in an alleged cryptocurrency scam orchestrated through a relationship formed on Instagram.
- The victim was initially led to believe he was making profits, but encountered difficulties when attempting to withdraw his funds.
- The FBI warns of similar scams, often referred to as “pig butchering,” where individuals are manipulated into investing in fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes.
An Athens man with a “steady” relationship with a woman named “Lyra” that he met on Instagram recently reported to police that she told him about an app on which he could make money by investing in cryptocurrency.
So, the 52-year-old man went to his bank and withdrew more than $70,000, according to an Athens-Clarke police report.
The app showed he was indeed making money from the investment, but a problem happened when he decided to withdraw some money to pay off his car, according to the report. He was told to deposit more money to receive the withdrawal.
This was an uh-oh moment for the man, as he reported he immediately suspected a scam.
The man told an officer he contacted Lyra and confronted her about app. But after the communication, he went back to the app and instead of $74,000 in the account he only had 25 cents.
And somehow, the layout of the app was changed, he told police.
The FBI on its website reported that cryptocurrency investment fraud is prevalent today. Commonly, the fraud is called “pig butchering,” because the scam artist builds a relationship with a victim before luring them into an investment scheme.
“Scammers, through various means of manipulation, convince victims to deposit more and more money into financial ‘investments’ using cryptocurrency,” the FBI reported. “In truth, these investments are fake; all victim money is under the control of — and ultimately stolen by — criminal actors, usually overseas. As a result, victims typically lose all money they invested.”
The scam artist encourages the victim to move their money from a traditional bank into a cryptocurrency account, where initially the returns appear “extremely lucrative,” so this prompts even more investments, the FBI warned.
Only when the person wants money from the account, do the problems arise as the scammer then demands more money, according to the FBI.