March 13, 2024 at 08:33AM
US law enforcement seized $1.4 million worth of Tether tokens in a tech support scam targeting elderly victims. Perpetrators posed as tech support employees and bank representatives to fraudulently obtain victims’ funds, totaling over $12.5 billion in reported losses for 2023. The FBI identified and froze the fraudsters’ accounts, with Tether’s cooperation in seizing the funds.
From the meeting notes, it is evident that US law enforcement has made a significant seizure of $1.4 million worth of Tether (USDT) tokens believed to have been fraudulently obtained through tech support scams targeting the elderly across the US. The fraudulent scheme involved the perpetrators posing as tech support employees from Microsoft or Apple, convincing victims to install remote access programs, and ultimately persuading them to convert their funds to cryptocurrency and transfer them to wallets controlled by the scammers. The FBI obtained a court order to seize the suspected fraud proceeds, and Tether voluntarily supported the authorities in this seizure.
Furthermore, the FBI’s cybercrime report for 2023 indicates reported losses totaling over $12.5 billion, representing a 22% increase compared to 2022. Additionally, related international efforts have resulted in 3,500 arrests and the seizure of $300 million in an online fraud crackdown, as well as the takedown of the ‘Crimemarket’ cybercrime website by German authorities and a major blow to the LockBit ransomware operation through law enforcement hacking.