US Secret Service Confiscates More Than $100M in Crypto Over Past 7 Years

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The US Secret Service has seized more than $102 million in crypto as part of 254 fraud investigations since 2015, CNBC reports.

The main tasks of the federal agency are the prevention of counterfeiting of dollars, debt obligations, the protection of the president and high-ranking officials, as well as the investigation of various types of financial fraud and cybercrime.

David Smith, deputy director of investigations for the service, has said:

“When you follow a cryptocurrency wallet, it is no different than an email address that has some associated identifiers. And as soon as two parties make a transaction, it gets into the blockchain, and we have the ability to trace this email or wallet address.”

One of the cases is the one of a scam that affected 900 US citizens. According to the investigation, which was conducted by the Romanian police, the scheme involved the placement of fake ads on online auctions and sites selling luxury goods. After receiving the payment, the attackers disappeared, and the money received was laundered with the help of digital assets.