A publicly released filing by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reveals that law enforcement agencies seized approximately $1.7 million worth of digital assets from March to May. According to the report published by the FBI, scammers are attempting to steal victims’ wallets by presenting themselves as celebrities on social media.
Seized Assets Draw Attention
According to the file, the FBI seized $147,000 worth of Bitcoin, $800,000 worth of Ethereum, $307,000 worth of Tether, $469,000 worth of Dai, and $20,000 worth of Monero. Various sources, including Binance wallets, were seized along with the assets. The FBI’s Eastern District of Virginia has seized a total of 428.5 Ethereum, the largest amount seized so far. One of the Ethereum seizures was valued at approximately $463,000. The file also emphasizes that the seizure of assets is a result of various violations in federal regulations:
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports that the property listed below was seized for federal forfeiture due to violations of federal laws.”
In addition to cryptocurrencies, the FBI listed various items seized, including US dollars from bank accounts, sports cars, luxury handbags, clothing, and shoes.
FBI Issues Warning About Social Media
Meanwhile, the FBI continues to remind the crypto community about scammers who act like famous individuals in the NFT field. On August 6th, the FBI issued a warning about account hijackers who take advantage of victims by creating a sense of urgency and directing them to fake websites that steal their assets. The FBI stated that criminals either hack official social accounts or create new accounts that resemble official ones in order to commit theft and fraud.
In addition to phishing scams and social media takeovers, the FBI also warned about fake crypto job listings earlier this year. On May 23rd, the agency advised US citizens to be aware of fake job listings related to cryptocurrency investment scams.
