According to the bureau, cybercriminals created copies of websites and mobile wallets of well-known companies to steal investors' funds.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported that American investors who used fake crypto apps and websites lost at least $42.7 million. According to the bureau, 244 people have become victims of fraudsters who create copies of web pages and mobile wallets of well-known companies.
The FBI describes several similar cases. In the period from December 2021 to May 2022, cybercriminals deceived at least 28 people for about $3.7 million, convincing them to download applications with the name and logo of a real US financial institution. Users deposited cryptocurrency, and when they tried to withdraw funds, they received a message about the need to pay taxes on their investments before withdrawing funds. After paying the "tax", the victims still could not withdraw funds.
From October 2021 to May 2022, cybercriminals operating under the name of the company YiBit1 deceived at least four people in the amount of about $5.5 million. The scammers acted in the same way: they convinced the victims to download the YiBit app and make a deposit, which the users could not get back. In November 2021, cybercriminals operating under the name of the company Supayos, aka Supay2, deceived two people in the same way.
The FBI urged investors to be wary of offers to download mobile applications related to cryptocurrency, as well as to check whether such an application is an official tool.
In early June, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a report according to which about 46 thousand people reported the loss of more than $ 1 billion in cryptocurrencies due to fraud in social networks in 2021. The commission's report also mentions schemes of deception using "investment projects".
