On June 18, authorities in New York stopped a crypto-related scam that targeted Russian-speaking users through fake online ads.
The operation resulted in the recovery of $140,000 and the freezing of an additional $300,000 in crypto believed to have been stolen.
The investigation was carried out by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and the Department of Financial Services.
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The scam involved misleading advertisements placed on platforms like Facebook. These ads directed users to a fake cryptocurrency investment site that falsely claimed to be licensed in New York.
Most of the ads were in Russian and promoted high returns to attract people from the Russian community. Once users visited the site and sent in money, they received little or no follow-up.
The scam mainly affected people in Brooklyn, where more than 300 victims have been identified. Losses in that area alone have topped $1 million.
After being alerted, Meta, the company behind Facebook, has removed over 700 ads linked to the scheme.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “These scammers targeted Russian speakers on Facebook with enticing ads and my office, together with DFS and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, took action to stop these scammers and protect New Yorkers”.
The scam site had claimed to hold a BitLicense, which is the license companies need to operate legally in New York’s crypto industry. However, investigators found no such license had ever been granted to the platform.
On June 11, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Rahul Arora in New Delhi and seized around $327,000 in cryptocurrency. What happened? Read the full story.
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