FBI issues warning after investors lose $42.7 million through fraudulent crypto apps

• The FBI has issued a new warning about cybercriminals duping investors out of millions through fraudulent crypto investment applications. 
• At least 244 victims have been identified, and total losses stand at $42.7 million. 
• Suspicious crypto applications have used the names and logos of financial companies to encourage users to make deposits. 

The FBI has issued a new warning in light of cybercrimes targeting crypto investors through fraudulent applications. A new alert by the lead federal agency revealed at least 244 victims have been identified and the total losses stand at $42.7 million and counting. 

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FBI issues warning for crypto investors

While the crypto market recovered from the recent bloodbath, the FBI identified cybercriminals duping investors using fraudulent applications. The federal agency issued an alert after identifying 244 victims and total losses of $42.7 million. The suspicious crypto applications used the names and logos of legitimate financial companies to encourage victims to deposit crypto into a wallet address. 

When users attempted to withdraw the funds, they were told that taxes must be paid before their investment can be released. Investors who paid taxes on the fraudulent investment were effectively “throwing good money after bad.” It became a challenge for investors to recover their savings after investing in the fraudulent applications. 

The FBI claims that these criminals are looking to,

take advantage of the increased interest in mobile banking and cryptocurrency investing.

The agency has urged businesses to warn their customers about the activity and perform regular checks to ensure that their logos are not being used without their consent online. 

The FBI noted that between December 2021 and May 2022, a group of cybercriminals posing as a legitimate US financial business tricked 28 victims into downloading an application. The fraudsters used the logo and the name of a real financial institution to encourage victims to deposit cryptocurrency in accounts associated with the firm, however, no withdrawal was facilitated. 

This application pulled $3.7 million from its victims, according to the FBI. 

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