Secret Service Seized Funds from Overseas Accounts Linked to Fake Crypto Platforms
U.S. authorities have announced plans to return $7 million to victims of a sophisticated social engineering scam involving fraudulent cryptocurrency investment websites, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia on March 21.
The United States has recovered and cleared title to $7 million of investment fraud proceeds using civil asset forfeiture; victims may submit petitions to have the funds remitted back to them.#USSS #EDVA #justice https://t.co/h4DlRzQgZx
— U.S. Attorney EDVA (@EDVAnews) March 21, 2025
The scheme involved scammers who posed as trusted contacts, luring victims into transferring funds to websites that mimicked legitimate crypto investment platforms. These spoofed sites falsely claimed that users were making substantial profits, only to later coerce additional payments under false pretenses.
Multi-Layered Scam Operation Spanned Dozens of Shell Accounts
After gaining the trust of victims, the scammers instructed them to deposit funds into what appeared to be crypto trading platforms. In reality, these funds were funneled through a complex network of over 75 bank accounts registered under shell companies, and transferred overseas.
Authorities revealed that many of the international transfers were disguised as domestic wire transfers, further complicating the trail of funds and making it harder for victims to detect the fraud.
Victims who attempted to withdraw their investments were met with fabricated tax demands or other false fees, designed to pressure them into sending even more money.
Secret Service Recovered Funds in 2023
In 2023, the U.S. Secret Service successfully seized a portion of the stolen assets from a foreign bank and initiated a civil forfeiture action by filing a claim in a U.S. District Court.
While the foreign bank attempted to assert its own claim to the funds, a settlement was eventually reached, allowing $7 million of the seized funds to be returned to victims.
Authorities are now encouraging affected individuals to contact the Secret Service to begin the process of recovering their losses.
A Broader Trend in Sophisticated Crypto Crime
The announcement comes amid growing concerns about increasingly sophisticated crypto-related scams, with many utilizing social engineering tactics and spoofed communication channels.
In its 2025 Crypto Crime Report, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis warned that crypto crime has entered a “professionalized era”, driven by highly efficient cybercrime syndicates.
Examples of recent crypto-related scams include:
- On March 21, Australian federal police reported having to warn over 130 people about an SMS phishing campaign that spoofed sender IDs from major exchanges like Binance.
- On March 14, users on X reported a string of phishing messages mimicking Coinbase and Gemini, attempting to trick recipients into setting up new wallets using fraudster-controlled recovery phrases.
- On March 18, cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes flagged a new malware campaign that hid crypto-stealing code inside a pirated version of TradingView Premium.
- On March 17, Microsoft’s Incident Response Team uncovered a remote access trojan (StilachiRAT) that targets cryptocurrency wallets installed as Chrome extensions.
Ongoing Call for Caution and Regulatory Action
The U.S. government continues to advise crypto users to remain vigilant against phishing attempts, spoofed platforms, and malware threats. Agencies also stress the importance of educating users about cybersecurity best practices and verifying platform authenticity before making transactions.
With cybercrime targeting digital assets becoming more advanced, efforts by law enforcement to track, seize, and return stolen funds have become increasingly critical. The return of the $7 million serves as a rare but positive example of restitution in a space often marked by untraceable losses.
