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Brooklyn DA seizes domains in crypto scam targeting Russian community
These ads led victims to fake websites, where they were contacted by supposed Russian-speaking investment advisors, who guided them through the process of purchasing and transferring cryptocurrency.
“My office continues to respond to complaints from Brooklyn residents who are victims of the growing problem of cryptocurrency scams,” Gonzalez said. “This particular operation targeted members of the Russian community through Facebook advertising, speaking their language, gaining their trust and convincing them to make investments that were ultimately stolen.
“We have now severely disrupted this long-standing scam and will continue to work to take fake investment websites offline to protect the public, while raising awareness so our neighbors can protect themselves,” Gonzalez continued.
The investigation revealed that the scammers used a technique known as “Pig Slaughter”, where victims were initially allowed to make small withdrawals to build trust before being blocked from accessing their accounts or asked to pay additional fees to recover your investments. The sites are believed to originate from Russia, making recovery of the stolen funds difficult due to jurisdictional issues.
The seized domains, which now redirect to a law enforcement warning message, prevented further victimization. Several people who were about to transfer more money were alerted to the scam by the seizure notice from the Prosecutor’s Office.
The victims ranged in age from 35 to 75, with most over 50. Brooklyn victims came primarily from neighborhoods such as Brighton Beach, Borough Park, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay, Ocean Parkway, Manhattan Beach and Kensington. Individual losses ranged from $18,000 to more than $117,000. Additional victims were identified in states including California, Maryland, Washington, Nebraska, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina and Pennsylvania.
The District Attorney’s Office advises the public to be alert to cryptocurrency scams, which often involve unsolicited messages, group chats on WhatsApp or Telegram, promises of high returns, requests to download apps from unverified sources, communication via messaging apps and difficulty withdrawing funds without additional costs.
To protect yourself from these scams, the DA recommends being skeptical of too-good-to-be-true offers, avoiding recommendations from unknown individuals, verifying the legitimacy of the company, not allowing remote access to computers, and to check whether the exchanges are authorized in New York State.
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