Scammers pose as crypto exchange employees to steal money

The FBI alerts crypto users about scammers who present themselves as cryptocurrency exchange employees to steal money.

This report from the federal law enforcement agency was allegedly caused by a surge of malicious operations that use impersonation to acquire access to targeted accounts and drain digital assets.

The authorities explained that these scammers use phone calls and messages posing as officials of cryptocurrency exchanges to deceive their victims. They also instil a sense of urgency in their targets by claiming that someone is attempting to get into the potential victims’ accounts or that there are security issues with their accounts.

After making contact, the scammers use various methods to deceive the victims into giving critical information, such as login passwords. Using this information, they can acquire access to cryptocurrency accounts and transfer assets to wallets controlled by the fraudsters, leaving victims with no alternatives for recovering their monies.

 

Crypto investors should be cautious of these scammers.

 

The alert stated that crypto investors should be wary of these campaigns by verifying the names of anyone claiming to be affiliated with a cryptocurrency exchange to know if the caller is one of the scammers.

Rather than replying directly to the unsolicited communication, the FBI suggests that the recipients confirm the caller’s identity through the cryptocurrency exchange’s official communication channel.

In addition, users should refrain from visiting any websites, click on the links the caller sends, and go to the official exchange website independently.

Furthermore, cryptocurrency users should avoid disclosing login credentials in response to unsolicited phone calls or messages. Also, do not click links, download messages, or open attachments, as these communications may contain malicious payloads that could steal data after infecting a device.

Last month, the FBI also warned everyone about fraudsters impersonating law firms and providing cryptocurrency recovery services to victims of investment schemes. These incidents show the growing number of scam operations that adopt impersonation tactics to steal crypto assets.

Therefore, users should know the guidelines posted on these warnings to mitigate or prevent the success of these ongoing impersonation campaigns from scammers.