Cryptocurrency apps stealing millions of dollars have finally caught the FBI's eye

pcgamer.com:

Over 200 people have recently been caught out by fraudulent cryptocurrency companies offering seemingly legitimate services, resulting in tens of millions of dollars lost. At at the beginning of 2022, the FBI says at least 28 people were scammed out of $3.7 million over a period of five months by convincing people to deposit crypto into fake wallet apps.

The FBI alert(opens in new tab) (PDF warning) states that, these cybercriminals posed as a legitimate US financial institution, but «when 13 of the 28 victims attempted to withdraw funds from the app, they received an email stating they had to pay taxes on their investments before making withdrawals.» They paid, but the money didn't come. 

The alert goes on to warn of $5.5 million stolen from four victims of the YiBit app, who were told they had to pay taxes on their investment but were still denied access to their funds after payment was made.

As well, $900,000 was extorted by one victim of Supayos, AKA Supay—which had been using the name of an Australian currency exchange firm to appear legitimate. The company told the victim $900,000 was the minimum balance, which he didn't consent to, and threatened to freeze all his assets unless the payment was made.

These are just a small portion of the recent victims, but it's clear this is enough of an issue now that the FBI is taking real notice. As they say, the actions of these cybercriminals is «defrauding US investors and causing reputational harm to US investment firms.»

According to a Chainalysis(opens in new tab)' overview of 2022 crypto crime trends (via The Register(opens in new tab)), illicit crypto activity has reached a strange point. It's at its highest in terms of value, and yet it makes up the smallest percentage