Latest news about Bitcoin and all cryptocurrencies. Your daily crypto news habit.
FBI releases PSA about increasing frequency of tech support fraud, now targeting cryptocurrency investors.
The FBIâs Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has published a public service announcement on March 28 warning about the prevalence of scammers posing as tech support for a variety of industries, including the cryptocurrency sector.
The announcement defines tech support fraud as a âcriminal claiming to provide customer, security, or technical support in an effort to defraud unwitting individuals,â and references the increasing frequency of this type of fraud leading to criminalsâpos[ing] as government agents, even offering to recover supposed losses related to tech support fraud schemes or to request financial assistance with âapprehendingâ criminals.â
Tech support fraud, which can occur through the telephone, search engines, pop-ups, locked screens, and phishing emails, is now also being perpetrated through the new targets of virtual currency exchanges, according to the FBIâs PSA.
The section on the new variations and trends of this type of fraud notes that virtual currency fraud has led to âindividual victim losses often in the thousands of dollars.â The scam is carried out by a criminal who pretends to be a virtual currency serviceâs support representative in order to gain access to a crypto holderâs wallet, then transferring all of the crypto out while the fake âmaintenanceâ is taking place, only to âcease all communicationâ and disappear with the funds.
The FBI suggests that the public update their ad-blocking and anti-virus software, examine customer support numbers found on search engines more carefully, and âresist[s] the pressure to act quicklyâ in online tech situations, as âcriminals create a sense of urgency to produce fear and lure the victim into immediate action.â
Victims of any tech support fraud scams are asked to immediately report the incidents in as much detail as possible to the IC3.
In January of this year, the IC3 warned the public about a different new method of cryptocurrency extortion â false death threats to individuals that requested crypto and fiat ransoms to spare their lives.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.