The FBI has helped take down a crypto scam network that targeted Russian-speaking individuals living in the US and likely stole tens of millions of dollars.
The operation, described as “one of the biggest operational cyber disruptions undertaken by a local prosecutor’s office,” was led by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s Virtual Currency Unit (VCU).
Russian-speaking people living in Brooklyn were targeted by crypto scammers operating a phony forex investment site that promised substantial returns via Russian-tailored ads.
Read more: Elliptic chief: Tether and Telegram prop up $442B scam economy
Individuals were contacted by fake investment advisors and convinced into depositing funds on their supposed investment site.
Victims were shown fake gains, and when they tried to withdraw their funds, they were told their account was locked or that they had to pay more money to access it.
Crypto scammers hit victims with more recovery scams
Authorities dismantled 241 crypto scam domains and 112 servers across Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and America.
The group would also revisit individuals it had already scammed, luring them with recovery operations that promised to restore their stolen crypto.
Gonzalez’s local office was able to seize $300,000, but despite this, many Individuals lost their life savings.
FBI director’s Russia optics aren’t great right now
FBI Director Kash Patel is also making headlines in relation to Russia.
MS NOW reported that Patel had landed in Russia on Wednesday for a two-day meeting with the country’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
However, US authorities clarified that he was in fact attending a law enforcement event in Virginia on that day.
Patel then posted on X, “From Russia, with love…” after the event.
Read more: Crypto hacking group ShinyHunters says it stole data of 5,000 FBI agents
This received considerable backlash, with X users highlighting the different ways the US is currently helping Russia.
Russia and the US recently signed a deal that would see Ukraine’s attacker trade 300,000 barrels of diesel with the US. The US is also slated to get a further 500,000 in November, and a million “immediately thereafter.”
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