Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects and the intersection of economics and cryptography.
US States Issue Crypto Freeze Orders At Exchanges In Attempted Fraud – Regulation Bitcoin News
The Delaware Department of Justice’s Investor Protection Unit has issued a cease and desist order against 23 entities and individuals involved in a popular cryptocurrency scam known as “pig slaughter.” The order also freezes the accounts allegedly containing cryptocurrencies belonging to the victims.
Delaware cracks down on hog slaughter fraud
The Attorney General of the US state of Delaware, Kathy Jennings, announced on Wednesday that the Investor Protection Unit of the state Department of Justice (DOJ) has “issued a summary cease and desist order against 23 entities and individuals involved in a known cryptocurrency scam known as the ‘pig slaughter scam.'”
Pork slaughter crypto scams have recently become alarmingly popular. Victims of this type of scam “are groomed over time to make investments using cryptocurrency, only to find out that what they thought was a safe investment was a scam,” the Delaware DOJ detailed. “The term derives from the fraudsters’ practice of ‘fatting’ their victims before fleeing with their possessions (‘butchering’).”
Attorney General Jennings emphasized, “When victims lose money through cryptocurrency scams, including hog scams, it can be difficult to recover those funds,” adding:
Today’s order takes a first step toward protecting Delaware investors from hog slaughter fraud by freezing funds at risk of onward transfer by the perpetrators.
The announcement describes that the Investor Protection Unit received complaints from residents of the state. They explained that they were contacted online by unknown people who encouraged them to invest in cryptocurrency. The scammers then encouraged them to invest more after showing great returns on their initial investments.
However, the Delaware DOJ warned: “Ultimately, they were never able to withdraw the funds and their cryptocurrency disappeared. It is estimated that this international fraud involves thousands of victims across the country with billions of dollars in losses.”
Working with a data analytics company, the Investor Protection Unit traced cryptocurrency belonging to two Delaware plaintiffs to a number of wallets on various crypto exchanges, the agency described.
The cease and desist order prohibits anyone or any entities associated with the wallets from withdrawing or transferring assets owned by the plaintiffs, the Delaware Department of Justice noted, elaborating:
This in turn prevents the exchanges holding the wallets from allowing the parties to move the fraudulently obtained crypto, effectively freezing the accounts with assets belonging to the Delaware victims.
Have you come across the pork butcher crypto scam? Let us know in the comments section below.
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