FBI cautions the public against fake crypto apps

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a public warning to raise awareness of fraud through malicious cryptographic applications, as victims of crypto-based cyber fraud have lost more than $ 42.7 million so far. Did.

4-page document title “Cybercriminals create fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications to deceive US investors” is a common method used by criminals to deceive investors with the logo of a legitimate cryptocurrency company And explained that it was to use identification information. The FBI explains that the estimated number of victims of such scams is already 244.

The advisory highlighted individual cases to explain the scope and sophistication of crypto scammers.

Using an app that displays the logo of a real US financial institution, we seduced the victim and deposited cryptocurrencies in an in-app wallet. When the victim tried to withdraw funds, he was asked to pay tax on that amount, and even after the “payment of tax” was made, such withdrawal attempts were blocked.

According to the FBI, the scam has deceived 28 victims in six months and lost $ 3.7 million. A similar scam operating under the name “YiBit” robbed four different individuals of at least $ 5 million between October 2021 and May 2022. Another app, called “Supay,” tricked victims by freezing funds in the app’s wallet until more funds were added.

The story of such a malicious application is also posted on encrypted Twitter.

The FBI advised investors to be aware of unilateral requests to download investment applications.

“Take steps to verify your identity before providing personal information or relying on investment advice.”

Securities intelligence agencies also advise users to verify the legitimacy of the app before installing the app and to ensure that the disclosures and documents requested by such app are tailored to the purpose of the app. Did.

He also asked investors to “skeptically treat applications with limited or broken functionality.”