New York authorities freeze $ 300,000 related to cryptographic crooks

New York officials said a survey leading to the resumption of $ 140,000 and the freezing of $ 300,000 in stolen funds as part of an cryptocurrency investment scam using false advertisements on social networks.

In a Wednesday opinion, the authorities of the Brooklyn District Prosecutor’s Office, New York State Prosecutor’s Office and the New York State Financial Services Department said They had disrupted a plan to defraud the members of the Russian community of the State and the country.

According to officials, the crooks used cryptocurrency to pay the false advertisements of digital assets on Facebook and other platforms, which led to a crisis of $ 140,000 and to freezing of $ 300,000 in crypto.

“These crooks have targeted the Russians on Facebook with attractive advertisements and my office with DFS and the Brooklyn District prosecutor took action to stop these crooks and protect New Yorkers,” said NY prosecutor, Letitia James. “I urge all New Yorkers to be vigilant of online investment advertisements of cryptocurrency.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t06mvwz6ngm

Although the survey has resulted in recovery or freezing of more than $ 440,000 in stolen funds, the authorities indicated that the program had caused more than a million dollars in losses in the Brooklyn region, with more than 300 identified victims.

The crooks would have used a false investment website in crypto claiming to have obtained an applied bit, the license required by cryptographic companies offering services in New York State.

In relation: The second largest city in Washington, Spokane, prohibits automatic Crypto ticket distributors

Many malicious advertisements on social networks, called “Black Hat” advertisements, were in Russian and mainly on Facebook. Meta, the Facebook parent company, would have closed more than 700 ads after learning the investigation.

Crypto users still vulnerable to scams

The analysis chain reported that there was been around 51 billion dollars In the volume of illicit transactions involving digital assets in 2024. Although payments linked to ransomware attacks have dropped by 35%, there are concerns about the growing use of artificial intelligence to facilitate scams.