Amid the ongoing crypto market bear, the crypto community is also battling the heightened rate of scams. Following this, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is now seeking explanations from Apple and Google regarding their vetting for crypto investment apps. This came soon after the FBI’s latest report regarding investors losing nearly $43 million to fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications.
According to CoinDesk, Senator Brown wrote letters to the two companies chief executives stating that “cyber criminals have stolen company logos, names and other identifying information of crypto firms and then created fake mobile apps to trick unsuspecting investors into believing they are conducting business with a legitimate crypto firm”. He added that this has resulted in alarming consequences with far too many investors falling victim to such frauds.
Brown said it’s “imperative that app stores have the proper safeguards in place to prevent fraudulent mobile application activity.” In light of this, Brown’s letters have sought answers from these tech giants about their screen process, including “the review process your company takes before approving crypto apps to operate in your app store.”
FBI Charts Nearly $43 Million Loss Via Fraudulent Crypto Apps
Earlier this month, Watcher Guru reported on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) report regarding the recently increased prevalence of fraudulent cryptocurrency investment applications to defraud investors.
The FBI alerted investors about scammers who are claiming to offer legitimate cryptocurrency investment services using the names of established institutions, displaying their products on credible platforms such as Apple and Google. Following this, the scammers are coercing victims to install their fraudulent mobile apps to further extract investor funds in the name of high returns.
The agency determined that so far they have “identified 244 victims and estimates the approximate loss associated with this activity to be $42.7 million”. Subsequently, the FBI sought future victims or witnesses to contact them via the Internet Crime Complaint Center or their local FBI field office.