FBI warns of fake remote work ads used for cryptocurrency fraud

FBI warns of fake remote work ads used for cryptocurrency fraud

June 4, 2024 at 04:39PM

The FBI warned that scammers are using fake remote job ads to steal cryptocurrency from job seekers, posing as recruiters for legitimate companies. The scammers create work-from-home scams with confusing compensation structures and use fake portals. The FBI advises caution, not sending money to alleged employers, and reporting suspicious activities to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

Based on the meeting notes, the main takeaways are:

1. The FBI has issued a warning about scammers using fake remote job ads to steal cryptocurrency from job seekers across the United States by posing as recruiters for legitimate companies.
2. The scammers use work-from-home scams to lure victims with tasks like rating businesses online or “optimizing” a service.
3. Red flags for potential victims include being asked to make cryptocurrency payments as part of a work task, job descriptions involving simple tasks, and not being asked to provide references from previous jobs during the hiring process.
4. The FBI advises unemployed Americans to be cautious of unsolicited job offers, to never send money to an alleged employer, not to pay for services claiming to recover lost cryptocurrency funds, and not to send financial or personally identifiable information to people making unsolicited job offers.
5. Victims are urged to report fraudulent or suspicious activities to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and provide transaction details associated with the scam, including cryptocurrency addresses, the amount and type of cryptocurrency, the date and time, and the transaction ID (hash).
6. Unlicensed cryptocurrency transfer services have been highlighted as a risk, with the FBI warning that using them can result in financial loss if the platforms are taken down by law enforcement.
7. The FBI’s IC3 released its 2023 Internet Crime Report, revealing a 22% increase in reported losses compared to 2022, with a total of $12.5 billion lost to online crime in a single year.

These takeaways summarize the key points from the meeting notes and are ready to be used for further action or distribution.

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