Warren County victim lost over $341K in crypto scheme

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The U.S. Secret Service seized a web domain that was used in a cryptocurrency scheme, referred to as a "pig butchering" scheme. The Department of Justice (DOJ) says a Warren County victim lost over $341,000 in the scheme.

According to the DOJ, in pig butchering schemes, scammers find victims in several ways, including online dating apps, social media sites, or random text messages masquerading as a wrong number. They then begin relationships with victims and slowly gain their trust to introduce the idea of making a business investment using cryptocurrency.

Victims are then persuaded to invest and send money to fake cryptocurrency investment platforms. The scammer then leaves, often resulting in losses for the victim.

The DOJ says between August 2022 and July 2023, scammers induced a Warren County victim to wire money to the now-seized domain of OKEX-NFT.net. The unidentified victim believed they were partaking in a legitimate cryptocurrency opportunity and lost upwards of $341,000.