Crypto scam victims are being pegged as easy marks by fraudsters who are targeting these individuals – after they've already been scammed.
According to a new warning by the FBI, there's a new, growing trend of scammers masquerading as law firms and targeting those who have already been victims of cryptocurrency scams. These nonexistent law firms offer services to the scam victims, claiming that they can recoup their stolen funds. In reality, these fake companies just scam these victims again.
The FBI first put out a warning about this scam last year. However, according to the FBI's update, targeting crypto scam victims has been quite lucrative for scammers.
Between February 2023 and February 2024, the FBI reports that $9.9 million has been stolen from crypto scam victims by fake law firms via this scheme.
Victims report being contacted by the scammers, who claim they can investigate their stolen crypto cases and claw back their funds. Others initiated the contact themselves after being duped by fake websites offering crypto recovery services.
After a crypto scam victim decides to work with the fake law firm, the scammer will extract funds from the victims in numerous different ways. For example, the scammer may request that the victim pay fees upfront for the fake services or trick them into having to pay "back taxes" or other necessary legal fees in order to recover the funds. The scammers also make requests for personal information and banking information from the crypto scam victim.
The scammers routinely mention connections to the FBI, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), or other government agencies in order to help bolster their legitimacy.
Those who believe they have been scammed are encouraged to file a report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
