DA says he shut down 21 sites stealing millions through crypto scams
Authorities in New York City say they have disrupted an online fraud operation that stole millions of dollars by duping victims into making phony cryptocurrency investments
NEW YORK — Authorities in New York City said Thursday they disrupted an online fraud operation that stole millions of dollars by duping victims into making phony cryptocurrency investments.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said his office seized 21 web domains that were being used by scammers in so-called “pig butchering” schemes, a term that refers to gaining victims' trust through dating apps or other sites and steering them toward bogus investments.
“Pig butchering is a growing type of scam that defrauds residents of Brooklyn and the entire country out of billions of dollars every year,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “My office’s strategy is to disrupt these schemes by seizing and shutting down their online infrastructure, and to educate the public.”
He urged people not to trust crypto investments that seem too good to be true and warned against downloading apps from unverified crypto websites.
The New York Police Department received 50 complaints about online crypto scams last year, but that is likely a tremendous undercount because people are ashamed of being fooled or don't know how to report the crime, Gonzalez said.
The victims who have come forward reported losing more than $4 million in Brooklyn alone, Gonzalez said, calling the reports “heartbreaking.”
“There are people who are losing huge sums of money,” he said during a news conference. “Sometimes they're losing their entire life savings. Sometimes they’re mortgaging their homes.”
One victim, a 51-year-old woman, reported to police last year that she lost $22,680 after she was
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