Following the discovery of three fraudulent crypto apps that stole millions between October 2021 and May 2022, the FBI issued a public warning about false crypto apps.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a public warning against such fraudulent apps after discovering three bogus crypto apps that took around $42.7 million from 244 victims between October 4, 2021, and May 13, 2022.
The FBI claims that these fraudsters are luring victiims by exploiting the names and trademarks of respectable U.S. companies. All users are advised by the Bureau to get in touch with the FBI online or at their nearby FBI field office if they believe they have been the victim of such fraudulent operations.
Three fraudulent apps have been found by the FBI
The FBI has identified three fraudulent crypto apps, which are included in the public alert.
The first app which was revealed, Supayos (also known as Supay), operated between November 1 and November 26, 2021, using the name of an actual Australian exchange. Two victims were persuaded to download the app and make many deposits into their Supay accounts by the criminals behind it. One of the victims was informed that he was enrolled in a $900,000 program. The victim was instructed to deposit the required sum if he wished to shut his account, or else all of his assets would be frozen.
The second phony app to steal about $5.5 million from four victims was YiBit. A trustworthy exchange platform called YiBit closed in 2018. Between October 4 and May 13 2022, the assailants were active. They persuaded 17 investors to deposit money, and then they demanded that they pay taxes before they could take their money. Four users reported having trouble withdrawing their balances from the app.
The third fake app’s name hasn’t been disclosed by the FBI. The attackers were active between December 22, 2021, and May 7, 2022, impersonating a real American corporation. The FBI found that they defrauded 28 people for a total of almost $3.7 million. All 28 of the victims of this event were requested to pay taxes before receiving money, just like the YiBit attackers. 13 of them did, but they were unable to withdraw even after that.