The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recently issued an alert regarding a fraudulent cryptocurrency platform known as Ichcoin, which has allegedly scammed investors across the United States.
The FBI’s Houston office is now seeking to identify additional victims of this widespread scheme.Â
FBI Uncovers Ichcoin Cryptocurrency Scam
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned investors against a fake cryptocurrency platform called Ichcoin, used to defraud hundreds of people across the United States. Active in identifying additional victims of this scam is the FBI’s Houston office.
Amanda Culver, assistant special agent in charge, says the reason is always why Ichcoin ‘scheme’ or ‘scam’, as she puts it, a common source of which is social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.
After that, the scammers start talking to you on WhatsApp, talking about themselves as Crypto investment coaches. Victims receive pressure to dupe their banks and transfer massive sums of money to the fake platform.
Victims are lured into believing their investment is growing only to be ‘ghosted’ when they try to withdraw their money, Culver explained. According to some victims, they have lost their life savings.
“An average person would definitely be misled by this scam,” Culver said. Research is crucial, according to her, to use these platforms to deceive people as cryptocurrency can offer returns on investment.
The FBI has highlighted several red flags associated with such scams, including: These include unsolicited messages conveying investment offers, promises of high investment rates and offers to provide free money to invest.
Users are urged to be cautious with these warning signs and do proper due diligence before making any investment decisions, Culver said. Potential victims or anyone with information about this attack is urged to come forward, the FBI stated.
Broader Cryptocurrency Theft Trends
The cryptocurrency theft has spawned the Ichcoin scam, which is part of a bigger trend of cryptocurrency theft. In the third quarter of 2024 alone, hackers have stolen over $127m in cryptocurrencies from investors, with September accounting for around $46m of these losses.
According to Web3 security firm Scam Sniffer, phishing scams had more than 10,800 victims in September. On September 28, a phishing attack triggered via a permit phishing signature depleting 12,083 spWETH ($32.43 million) was the largest single loss.
Phishing attacks aimed at tricking investors into linking their crypto wallets, for instance MetaMask, to illicit services are often the way these attacks are done. Once it is linked, scammers can take users’ crypto off without any further authentication, underscored by the fact that verification of crypto addresses is always possible.