The FBI has issued a renewed warning about a persistent and evolving scam targeting cryptocurrency fraud victims by impersonating law firms and government entities promising fund recovery services.
Detailed in a Public Service Announcement, the Bureau highlights a growing trend of fraudsters exploiting victims a second time, this time through fictitious legal firms posing as official partners of US and international regulatory bodies. These schemes employ a blend of technical deception, social engineering, and emotional manipulation to drain additional funds and gather sensitive personal data under the pretense of restitution.
The FBI notes that these fake recovery firms go beyond cold calls and phishing emails: they fabricate entire legal identities, complete with forged documents, realistic websites, and impersonations of real attorneys. In many cases, scammers cite insider knowledge, such as the exact details of the victim's prior crypto losses, to establish credibility.
Common signs of the crypto scam
These operations often falsely claim to work with nonexistent or entirely fictitious regulatory agencies, like the “International Financial Trading Commission (INTFTC),” or purport to have access to a US government “victim list.” The scam typically culminates in requests for additional payments, often in cryptocurrency or gift cards, under the guise of processing fees, identity verification, or foreign bank compliance costs.
The FBI outlines multiple red flags that may signal a fraudulent legal recovery firm:
- Impersonation of actual attorneys or use of doctored legal stationery.
- Claims of official partnerships with government agencies, none of which have authorized legal recovery partners.
- References to fictitious oversight bodies.
- Requests for payments in crypto or prepaid gift cards.
- Intimate knowledge of a victim's past scam losses, often gained from previous data leaks or dark web sources.
- Group messaging via apps like WhatsApp to simulate secure communication with “foreign bank agents.”
- Avoidance of video calls or refusal to provide verifiable credentials.
- Requests to send funds to third-party shell entities posing as payment intermediaries.
The impersonated law firms are typically small to mid-sized outfits with public-facing attorneys, some of whom have had their reputations damaged or been forced to issue disclaimers.
The fake banking platforms used in these scams often replicate legitimate financial institutions, complete with convincing domains, dashboards, and customer service chatbots. Victims are told their recovered funds are being held in these banks and are coerced into paying increasingly elaborate fees to access them.
To counter the threat, the FBI advises the public, especially known crypto scam victims, to exercise strict due diligence. These people are advised never to trust unsolicited offers of fund recovery, especially those requesting upfront payments, and instead demand notarized proof of identity and bar licensure from anyone claiming to be a legal representative. People should also verify any alleged affiliation with government entities directly through official channels, use video calls, and maintain complete records of interactions.
The FBI urges anyone who suspects they have been approached or victimized by these schemes to file a report through the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov, and to contact their local FBI field office.
Leave a Reply