The New York Attorney General has initiated a lawsuit seeking to recover over $2 million in cryptocurrency stolen through a remote job scam. This fraud, which ran from January 2023 to June 2024, targeted individuals seeking remote work opportunities. Scammers sent text messages promoting fake job offers, encouraging victims to open cryptocurrency accounts, purchase stablecoins, and deposit funds under the pretense of reviewing products. In reality, the scammers stole the deposited funds, making it difficult for victims to recover their money once they realized the scam.
Victims were often told their deposits, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, were necessary to validate their product reviews. One victim, for example, was instructed to deposit increasing amounts of cryptocurrency, ultimately borrowing money and using credit cards to fund the scam. Despite believing they were making legitimate investments, these victims found that their funds were transferred to wallets controlled by the scammers, who blocked access when they attempted to withdraw their money. The New York Attorney General’s office, in collaboration with the U.S. Secret Service and other agencies, has successfully frozen some of the stolen funds in an effort to recover them.
The scam utilized platforms like Coinbase, Gemini, and Crypto.com:
The scam utilized platforms like Coinbase, Gemini, and Crypto.com to facilitate the purchase of cryptocurrency, which was then sent to wallets controlled by the fraudsters. Scammers even urged some victims to use money transfer services like Wise to send funds under the guise of assisting in cryptocurrency purchases. The Attorney General’s office aims not only to reclaim the stolen funds but also to ensure that the perpetrators face legal penalties and restitution to compensate the victims affected by this scheme.
In an unprecedented move, the lawsuit involved the use of a nonfungible token (NFT) to notify the scammers of the litigation. This innovation in legal notification is part of the broader effort to freeze and track criminal assets globally, particularly through initiatives like Tether’s T3 Financial Crime Unit. Tether’s partnership with law enforcement agencies has already resulted in the freezing of millions in criminally derived funds, helping authorities trace and seize stolen assets linked to scams like the one perpetrated in New York.
