based on materials from the site - By Cryptopolitan_News

Over the past decade, the Global Investigative Operations Center of the U.S. Secret Service (GIOC) has quietly seized around $400 million in digital assets from cybercriminals, becoming a formidable force in global cryptocurrency enforcement.

What starts as a casual online chat can end in financial disaster. In one case, a victim was lured by a friendly stranger and directed to a legitimate cryptocurrency investment platform with charts, an elegant interface, and responsive customer support. Initial deposits showed modest gains. Encouraged, the victim sent more money, even borrowing to keep up. Then the platform went offline, and the account balance disappeared.

'Here’s how they do it,' said Jamie Lamb, a U.S. Secret Service investigative analyst, speaking last month to law enforcement officials in Bermuda. 'They will send you a photo of a really attractive guy or girl. But it's probably some old guy from Russia.'

This case was just one of many discussed during a week-long seminar conducted by the Global Investigative Operations Center (GIOC) — a little-known division specializing in tracking digital financial crimes across borders. Using open-source tools, GIOC investigators traced the fraud back to a domain, a crypto wallet, and, thanks to a brief VPN failure, an exposed IP address.

GIOC has quietly become one of the most influential players in the enforcement of crypto assets. According to people familiar with the agency's internal briefings, over the past decade, the team has seized about $400 million in digital assets. Most of it is held in a cold storage wallet among the largest known state-controlled digital assets.

Cali Smith leads global efforts to expose crypto crime and educate countries on digital threats.
Cali Smith, the head of cryptocurrency strategy at the Secret Service, plays a central role in these efforts. Under her leadership, the agency has trained law enforcement officers and prosecutors in more than 60 countries, focusing on jurisdictions vulnerable to exploitation due to weak regulation or residency sale schemes.

'Sometimes after just a week of training, they can say: 'Wow, we didn't even realize this was happening in our country',' Smith said during a training session in Bermuda.

Bermuda, known for its advanced cryptocurrency regulation, recently held a seminar amid growing concerns that its policies favoring digital assets could also attract bad actors.

Bermuda's Governor Andrew Murdoch told reporters that technology and financial services are well-suited for economic growth but can also be used for selfish purposes. He notes that alongside the benefits, strong investigative powers are needed to combat abuses of the law.

During a class held in the Hamilton Harbor area, Smith warned that victims of fraud often mistakenly believe that Bitcoin guarantees safety. 'They think they can use Bitcoin and be safe. But that's not true,' she said.

One real case involves a teenager from Idaho who was extorted into paying hundreds of dollars after sending an intimate photograph online. The investigation uncovered a network of transactions conducted through another American teenager, ultimately leading to a crypto wallet that processed nearly $4.1 million through 6,000 transactions. The wallet was linked to a Nigerian passport, and the suspect was arrested in England awaiting extradition.

Crypto fraud is leading to record losses as scams become brutal and global manhunts intensify.
Fraud involving digital assets is currently the leading cause of losses from cybercrime in the U.S. Americans lost $9.3 billion due to cryptocurrency-related fraud schemes in 2024. Theft and fraudulent losses account for more than half of the total $16.6 billion reported by the FBI for the year. Elderly victims were hit hardest, with losses approaching $2.8 billion, most of which stemmed from fraudulent investment sites.

In more extreme cases, digital theft has escalated into real violence. In New York, two men were charged with kidnapping and torturing a longtime friend to gain access to his crypto wallet. In Connecticut, six people were charged with kidnapping and beating the parents of a teenage hacker who stole $245 million in Bitcoin in a failed ransom attempt.

The Secret Service often collaborates with major cryptocurrency firms to track stolen money. Companies like Coinbase and Tether have provided invaluable assistance in investigations by analyzing wallets and freezing accounts suspected of fraudulent activity. One of the largest seizures was $225 million related to a massive romance investment scam.

The agency's focus on tracking dirty money is part of a broader, long-standing mission that has now extended into the digital realm, with the New York field office, which also covers Bermuda, taking a leading role in global efforts to ensure compliance and educate about cryptocurrencies.


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