The FBI has issued a public warning about fraudulent cryptocurrency applications, which have swindled U.S. investors out of an estimated $42.7 million so far.
According to an advisory published, cybercriminals have created apps using the same logos and identifying information as legitimate crypto companies to defraud investors. The FBI noted that 244 people had already fallen victim to these fake apps.
One case saw cyber criminals convincing victims to download an app that used the same logo as an actual U.S. financial institution, encouraging them to deposit cryptocurrency into wallets supposedly related to their accounts.
When victims attempted to withdraw from the app, they would be asked to pay taxes on their withdrawals. However, this was just another ruse to part more funds from victims, as even if they made the payments, the withdrawals would continue to be unavailable.
Around $3.7 million was defrauded from 28 victims between December 2021 and May 2022, said the FBI.
Another case involved criminals operating under the name Supay in November 2021. They defrauded two victims by encouraging them to deposit cryptocurrency into their wallets on the app, which would then be frozen unless more funds were deposited.
Earlier this year, cyber security firm ESET uncovered a sophisticated scheme that would distribute Trojan applications disguised as popular cryptocurrency wallets. These applications would then attempt to steal crypto assets from their victims. A report from the United States Federal Trade Commission in June found that as much as $1 billion in crypto has been lost to scammers since 2021
