EZ-Pass final reminder: you have an outstanding toll. Such texts have become all too familiar to many Americans, and it is a Chinese-backed criminal network that is largely behind them. These scammers are using crypto to steal a record $17 billion from regular people, according to Chainalysis’s recent report.
The severity of this fraud has reached the attention of the U.S. government. On Wednesday, Jacqueline Burns Koven, the head of cyber threat intelligence at Chainalysis, spoke in front of the Senate about the increase of this criminal activity, and how the U.S. can combat it. Her testimony was titled, ‘Made in China, Paid by Seniors: Stopping the Surge of International Scams.’
“Scams that leverage cryptocurrency are having a record year in terms of proceeds,” Burns Koven said, in an interview with Fortune. “The Chinese scam conglomerates are the market leaders in criminal fintech. They’ve been doing this for a long time.”
The estimated $17 billion received in crypto scams is up from about 30% from last year, according to the report. These operations have become increasingly sophisticated and include the use of AI-generated deepfakes. Crypto is an essential part of the operation because the criminals frequently use digital currencies to finance their scamming operations, such as purchasing tools like SMS phishing kits.
