The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warns of scammers posing as employees of cryptocurrency exchanges to steal funds from unsuspecting victims.
While the FBI didn’t share what prompted today’s public service announcement, it was likely motivated by a surge of reports of fraudsters using this tactic to access victims’ accounts and siphon off their digital assets.
The U.S. federal law enforcement agency detailed how scammers contact victims through phone calls or messages, impersonating representatives of legitimate crypto exchanges. They’ll also often create a sense of urgency by claiming someone is trying to hack into the potential victims’ accounts or saying there are security issues with their accounts.
After establishing contact, the scammers use various tactics to deceive the victims into revealing sensitive information, such as login credentials. With this information, they gain access to cryptocurrency accounts and transfer the assets to wallets controlled by the fraudsters, leaving victims with few or no options to recover their funds.
The FBI has urged cryptocurrency investors to exercise caution and verify the identities of anyone claiming to be associated with a cryptocurrency exchange, especially when they’re warning of account issues or compromise.
Rather than responding directly to unsolicited messages (most likely coming from potential scammers), the FBI advises independently contacting the exchange through official communication channels.
“Hang up. Call the cryptocurrency exchange’s official phone number to verify if there is a problem. Do not use any phone number the caller provides,” the FBI said.
“Do not go to any websites or click on links the caller sends you. Navigate to the official cryptocurrency exchange website separately.”
The FBI also recommends never providing login information when asked via unsolicited calls or messages phone calls. Also, avoid clicking links, downloading messages, or opening attachments, as they could be malicious payloads designed to steal information after infecting a system.
Last month, the federal agency also warned of cybercriminals posing as law firms and offering cryptocurrency recovery services to victims of investment scams.
Since the start of the year, it also warned of fake remote job ads being used to steal cryptocurrency from job seekers across the United States, and it cautioned against using unlicensed cryptocurrency transfer services, which can result in financial loss if law enforcement takes down these platforms.
In August 2023, the FBI issued guidance for cryptocurrency scam victims, warning them to be wary of anyone reaching out and claiming they can recover the stolen funds since it could be another scam.
