- Secret Service’s crypto seizure highlights growing law enforcement focus on digital assets.
- Advanced blockchain tracking exposed major crypto fraud networks worldwide.
- Collaboration with global agencies and exchanges strengthens crypto crime investigations.
One of the biggest cold cryptocurrency wallets on the globe was constructed by the United States Secret Service, who also surreptitiously seized approximately 400 million dollars worth of cryptocurrency. Such hoarding is mostly attributed to the study of scams which entails the use of fake crypto investment platforms and other internet financial fraud.
Blockchain Analysis and Digital Forensics Uncover Crypto Scams
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The Secret Service used the open-source blockchain analytics tools, domain records, and the gaffes of scammers, including VPN snafus, to track the funds through the Global Investigative Operations Center (GIOC). Such practices enabled the criminal investigators to follow the money trail online, to thousands of transactions and trace it back to the criminals involved.
Among the most widespread are the frauds when scammers deceive people and make them enter false crypto investment projects that have great returns in theory but then vanish with money. One of the researchers described how the scammers use false pictures to build credibility, most often under another identity, even Russian.
At one point, a temporary VPN interruption exposed an IP address that enabled British officers to detain a suspect who had 4.1 million scam money attributed to a Nigerian passport. The second investigation that was conducted is that of the American teenager who was sextorted and pressured into working as a money mule and it demonstrates the complexity and international nature of the crimes.
Global Crackdown on Crypto Fraud and Collaboration
The Secret Service has trained law enforcers in over 60 nations to target and combat online finance crimes focusing on jurisdictions with weak oversight or residency schemes that fraudsters employ to conceal their funds. The agency cooperates with the largest exchanges like Coinbase and Tether, which assist in monitoring transactions and locking illegal wallets.
As of right now, crypto-related scams are the top source of online crime losses in the United States. Victims reported that they had lost $9.3 billion in 2024 alone, which is more than half of the entire amount of money that was taken from the internet in that year. Due to hacks, frauds, and vulnerabilities, a total of $2.47 billion has already been lost in the first half of 2025. This represents an almost 3% rise in comparison to the same period in the previous year.
The activity of Secret Service is concentrated on romance frauds, phishing, sextortion, and focusing on rug pulls, stealing money and disrupting criminal networks. Some of the largest recoveries included the recovery of USDt 225 million due to romance scams.
