U.S. Attorney: Warren County resident defrauded out of $172K through crypto scam

A Warren County resident was scammed out of over $172,000 through an elaborate crypto scheme.

The scammers convinced the victim to wire money to the domain NFT-UNI.com, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The transactions occurred between November 2023 and March 2024.

The scammers convinced the victim that they were investing in a legitimate cryptocurrency business venture. After the money was deposited into an account the scammers set up, the money was immediately transferred through numerous bank accounts to conceal the source of the funds, according to investigators.

The victim lost around $172,405. Other victims lost more than $4.5 million through the NFT-UNI.com web address, which the U.S. Secret Service seized the NFT-UNI.com web address.

In May 2024, they had seized the web domain OKEX-NFT.net, which was used in another scheme in Warren County.

They target victims that are often elderly including through dating applications and social media websites, even random text messages. The scammers build relationships with the victims, gain trust and convince them to make investments, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The National Cybersecurity Alliance said this type of scam is called “pig butchering” because the scammers take their time to “fatten up” their victims and take as much money as possible. 

Red flags include the random text messages, but the person wants to keep talking and they steer the conversation toward investments.

Anyone who believes they are victim of this type of scheme is asked to contact CryptoFraud@SecretService.gov or IC3.gov to file a report.