US government to return $7 million in seized funds to victims of fake crypto investment sites

Odaily News The U.S. government is seeking to return $7 million to victims of social engineering scams who were tricked into wiring money to fake cryptocurrency investment platforms.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the scam involves scammers first contacting victims and gaining their trust before directing them to websites posing as legitimate cryptocurrency investment platforms.
Once the victim made a deposit, the funds were transferred through more than 75 bank accounts in the name of shell companies and then transferred abroad in a "deceptive manner" that ostensibly appeared to be domestic transfers, although in reality the funds were transferred to banks outside the United States. "When the victim tried to withdraw the funds, the criminals pressured them to remit the funds by saying that the victim would need to pay taxes on the supposed proceeds." (Cointelegraph)