Fake Law Firms Pretending to Work with the FBI Target Crypto Scam Victims
- The number of fake law firms offering to recover funds for cryptocurrency scam victims is on the rise.
- Scammers reach out to potential victims using social media and other messaging services.
- They strengthen their claim by falsely declaring they work with official agencies.
The number of criminals pretending to be legitimate law firms specialized in recovering funds is growing, aiming to further defraud cryptocurrency scam victims, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warns. The scammers pose as employees of bogus law firms, exploiting social media and other messaging platforms to contact cryptocurrency scam victims.
They offer their services and claim to have the authorization to investigate fund recovery cases. To lure victims in, they even claim to get their information via collaborations with the FBI, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), or other government agencies and reference actual financial institutions and money exchanges to build credibility.
The fake lawyers use various tactics to further the scam, including asking the victims for personal identifying information or banking information as “identity verification” and requiring upfront payment of the initial fees, back taxes, and other fees.
According to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), between February 2023 and February 2024, cryptocurrency scam victims who were further exploited by fictitious law firms reported losses amounting to over $9.9 million. People who believe they have been victims of cryptocurrency schemes can file a report with the IC3.
Fraudsters also have seemingly legitimate websites online, and in some cases, crypto-scam victims contact criminals via these portals, hoping to recover their funds. Needless to say, people should investigate the activity of the company they want to reach out to for recovering lost funds before even thinking about sharing PII and making payments.