United States authorities have seized over $5 million worth of Tether earned through Pig butchering scams in the latest crackdown on bad actors in the crypto space.
The $5 million worth of Tether was stolen using cryptocurrency investment scams and the US authority’s investigation team worked with Tether during the crackdown.
US Authorities issued a statement on the $5 million crackdown on their official website highlighting details of the Pig Butchering scam and how it affects the lives of the everyday American.
“Americans are losing their life’s savings to investment frauds as funds are being rapidly transferred to cryptocurrency accounts overseas,”
In this case, one victim lost his entire individual retirement account to a scam. We are clawing back every dollar we can, even when criminals are located abroad. We are determined to seize their illegal proceeds and return money to the victims.
According to court filings, criminal actors approached and recruited victims through the guise of a romantic relationship to develop their trust. Once the relationship was established, the scammer would claim to have a technique to quickly make large profits trading cryptocurrency and introduce their victim to a fictitious cryptocurrency trading platform that bore a similar name and appearance to a legitimate cryptocurrency trading platform.
These fake investment platforms display a fictitious investment portfolio with abnormally large investment returns, which is designed to induce the victim to invest more. When the victims do attempt to withdraw funds, they are unable to do so and are often met with various excuses, including being told that they must pay a “tax” or “penalties” to release their funds, which is just a technique for the scammers to elicit even more money out of their victims”. said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “
FBI agent Robert Dewitt highlighted the need for law enforcement agencies to evolve and be more prepared for a fast-changing cybercrime world.
“As criminal actors continue to evolve in the world of cyber-enabled fraud, the FBI and its law enforcement partners must also evolve,” said FBI agent Robert DeWitt.
“This cryptocurrency seizure serves as an example of the FBI adapting to the changing criminal landscape and fighting for victims of cyber-enabled fraud schemes,” DeWitt added.
In June, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alerted consumers of an incoming rise in pig butchering scams or romance scams involving crypto investments.
What to Know
- Pig Butchering is a term that originates from Southeast Asia and was derived from the Chinese phrase Shaz Hu Pan. The scam refers to the slow and long-term nature of Pig butchering scams.
- Nairametrics earlier reported on an ex-US bank executive bagging over 24 years in Jail over a $47 million Pig Butchering scam.
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