The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office has confiscated 70 domains that were being used to deceive the Russian community in a cryptocurrency scam. The fraudulent scheme involved misleading Facebook advertisements that featured a deepfake of Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla. More than 20 residents of Brooklyn, as well as other victims across the country, fell victim to this scam and collectively lost $5 million.
The announcement by the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office on Thursday revealed that their Virtual Currency Unit had successfully disrupted the operation that was targeting members of the Russian community. The victims were enticed by deceptive Facebook ads promising investment opportunities, only to be contacted by supposed investment advisors who spoke in Russian. These advisors guided the victims to make cryptocurrency transactions on fake websites.
The investigation uncovered that over 20 investors from Brooklyn lost over $1 million, while additional victims from different parts of the United States lost a combined total of $4 million. As a result, the authorities have taken down a network of 70 connected domains that were being used for this scam.
The scam ads frequently featured a deepfake of Elon Musk endorsing cryptocurrency investments, with the scammers reaching out to victims in Russian to establish a sense of trust. Once the victims transferred their funds, they either found themselves unable to access their accounts or faced unexpected fees.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office believes that the websites originated from Russia, making it challenging to recover any stolen funds due to the limitations of U.S. jurisdiction. Therefore, their strategy has been to disrupt the scam by taking control of the fake websites.
What are your thoughts on this cryptocurrency scam that targeted the Russian community in the U.S.? Share your opinions in the comments below.
