U.S. Department of Justice: Nigerian scammers impersonate officials to defraud $250,000 in cryptocurrency

2025-07-03 14:29:18

Collection

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that a Nigerian fraudster successfully scammed a donor out of $250,000 in cryptocurrency by impersonating Steve Witkoff, co-chair of the Trump-Vance inauguration committee.

It is reported that the fraudster sent an email on December 24, 2024, using a clever domain spoofing technique—replacing the lowercase letter "i" in the official email "@t47inaugural.com" with a visually similar lowercase letter "l," resulting in "@t47lnaugural.com." The victim was deceived and transferred 250,300 Ethereum-based USDT stablecoins to a cryptocurrency wallet controlled by the fraudster on December 26.

The FBI successfully recovered 40,300 USDT through blockchain transaction tracking, with the assistance of Tether, and these funds are currently undergoing civil forfeiture proceedings to compensate the victim. Experts warn that as the political sphere becomes more accepting of cryptocurrency, such scams targeting crypto donations may increase, and AI and deepfake technology will further amplify the scale and complexity of fraudulent activities.

(Source Link)

Related tags

Nigeria scammers defraud cryptocurrency

ChainCatcher reminds readers to view blockchain rationally, enhance risk awareness, and be cautious of various virtual token issuances and speculations. All content on this site is solely market information or related party opinions, and does not constitute any form of investment advice. If you find sensitive information in the content, please click "Report", and we will handle it promptly.

Cryptocurrency Fraud Case Record

This topic will track and collect various scams and fraud cases in the cryptocurrency field. We will regularly update the latest information on virtual asset investment fraud, fraudulent activities, and other criminal activities, revealing scam techniques and methods of evading detection, helping investors identify risks and protect their interests.

Topic or theme