The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is cautioning students and job seekers about a specific type of cryptocurrency scam that falsely promises work-from-home opportunities. This scam, known as a “money mule” scam, involves criminals deceiving individuals into sending and receiving money through their bank accounts, digital wallets, or spot-market crypto trading accounts under the guise of legitimate job responsibilities.
Melanie Devoe, the director of the CFTC’s Office of Customer Education and Outreach (OCEO), emphasizes that even unknowing participants in money laundering can face criminal charges. She warns that young people seeking summer jobs, who may be looking for part-time income and are attracted to offers that only require a few hours of online work, can unwittingly become involved in money laundering schemes as “money mules,” which could lead to their imprisonment.
The CFTC highlights that victims of these scams may be instructed to use Bitcoin (BTC) kiosks or other on-ramps to convert cash into digital assets on a blockchain. They may also receive a large payment to a single crypto wallet and then be directed to split that payment into smaller portions and send them to various other addresses.
The regulator also alerts the public to be cautious of “pig butchering” romance scams. In these scams, fraudsters establish relationships with victims online to gain their trust and convince them to invest in cryptocurrency platforms that the scammers control. Once the victim has invested a significant amount of money, the con artist disappears with the funds.
The scammers refer to their victims as “pigs” because they employ elaborate stories to manipulate and deceive the victims into believing they are in a close relationship.
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