Key Words:
The DFPI’s consumer alert page now has 16 alerts from December 27 to 28 warning businesses to appear to be involved in fraud against California consumers.
The warnings were issued in response to public complaints about the brokers and websites, noting that consumers have losses ranging from $2,000 to $1.2 million.
Over the course of two days, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has issued 17 different warnings to cryptocurrency brokers and websites it believes to be fraudulent.
The suspected crypto websites include:
Tahoe Digital Exchange
TeleTrade Options
Tony Alin Trading Firm
Hekamenltd/Tosal Markets Limited
Trade 1960
Yong Ying Global Investment Company Limited
Unison FX
VoyanX.com
rbhoodc.com
Rui Win Capital Group LTD
Reliable Option Trade
Singapore International Monetary Exchange Limited/ Simex
Sun Bit Proa
UniSwap LLC
eth-Wintermute.net
ZC Exchange
Wherein, eth-Wintermute.net, and UniSwap LLC are the two copycat sites posing as two big names in the crypto sector.
The DFPI’s consumer alert page now has 16 alerts from December 27 to 28 warning that these businesses appear to be involved in fraud against California consumers.
It is unusual for the DFPI to issue so many notifications at once, implying that the amount of crypto fraud reports may have increased in the final parts of the year. The DFPI normally issues intermittent warnings concerning company investigations or notices about specific instances.
The warnings were issued in response to public complaints about the brokers and websites, with the DFPI noting that consumers have reported losses ranging from $2,000 to $1.2 million in certain cases. The DFPI, on the other hand, just states that these websites “appears to be engaged in fraud.”
A significant theme asserted in the majority of these advisories is pig slaughtering schemes, in which an individual or group creates a phony identity online in order to cultivate fraudulent relationships or friendships via social media, texting, and dating apps.
The ultimate objective is to convince the victim to invest in cryptocurrency through a spoof version of a real website, in this case, UniSwap LLC and eth-Wintermute.net or by sending cash to a shady wallet address.