Now armed with Forenso Blockchain instead of cash suitcases, the United States Secret Service is becoming one of the most sophisticated crime units in the world.
According BloombergIts global research center has seized almost $ 400 million in digital assets, stored in a single cold wallet, through operations aimed at scams, fraud and extortion.
A recent case illustrates the evolutionary scope of the agency: after a teenager was sextorted for $ 600, the agents tracked the cryptography through a mule of money to a Nigerian national allegedly responsible for thousands of illicit transactions.
The agency, led by the investigation analyst Jamie Lam, specializes in digital financial crimes using software, citations and spreadsheets instead of traditional tools for the application of the law.
The equipment tracks cryptocurrency fraud through domain records, wallet connections and blockchain analysis.
Romantic scams drive most cryptographic losses
Americans reported $ 9.3 billion in scams related to cryptocurrencies in 2024, which represents more than half of the $ 16.6 billion in total internet crimes reported to the FBI. Major victims suffered the largest losses in almost $ 2.8 billion, mainly through false investment platforms.
Kali Smith, from the Secret Service, which directs the agency’s cryptocurrency strategy, has held training workshops in more than 60 countries to help digital crimes of unmasking of the local law.
“Sometimes, after a week training, they can be, ‘Wow, we didn’t even realize that this is happening in our country,” Smith said during a recent Bermuda training session.
Recent cases show the agency’s research capabilities. An Idaho teenager received sextortes demands after sending inappropriate photos online, paying $ 600 before contacting the police.
Secret service analysts drew payments through an American money mule to a Nigerian passport holder who had processed $ 4.1 million in almost 6,000 transactions.
The British authorities arrested the alleged extortionist when landing in England, where he expects extradition. The case implied the reconstruction of the crime through screenshots, receipts and analysis of Blockchain data. It also underlines how digital detection is redefining the application of modern law, and how online exploitation has become a crimes of one billion dollars.
The Secret Service collaborates with cryptocurrency companies for traces analysis and the freezing of the wallet. Coinbase and Tether have publicly recognized research assistance, with a recovery that involves $ 225 million in USDT linked to romantic investment scams.
“We have been following the money for 160 years,” said Patrick Feaney, head of the Agency New York Field Office. “This training is part of that mission.”
