US Secret Service Has Seized Cryptocurrency Worth Over $102 Million in 254 Fraud Cases – In 254 fraud-related investigations, the US Secret Service confiscated cryptocurrency worth more than $102 million. “What criminals seek to do is muddy the waters and try to obscure their operations,” said the Secret Service’s Office of Investigations assistant director. “What we are really trying to do is track it as aggressively as possible, as rapidly as possible, in a linear approach.”
In an interview with CNBC published Tuesday, David M. Smith, a senior executive with the US Secret Service, discussed Cryptocurrency.
Smith is the 28th Assistant Director of the US Secret Service Office of Investigations, where he oversees the agency’s global investigative mission, which includes 161 offices and over 3,000 people.
The Secret Service is in charge of discovering, investigating, and apprehending anyone who violates particular financial system legislation. According to its website, “in recent years, digital assets have increasingly been utilized to assist a widening range of crimes, including numerous fraud schemes and the use of ransomware.”
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Secret Service personnel and analysts are actively following the flow of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the blockchain, Smith told the news source, adding:
“When you really follow a digital currency wallet, It’s no different than following an email address with some connections to identifiers .”
“And when an individual and another person execute a transaction, and that transaction is recorded in the blockchain, we have the capacity to track that wallet address, or email address as it’s known.” the assistant director confirmed.
The Secret Service has recovered more than $102 million in cryptocurrency from criminals in accordance with 254 cases of fraud-related investigations since 2015, according to information maintained by the agency, according to the outlet.
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“One of the things with cryptocurrencies is that money is moved at a faster pace unlike the traditional format,” Smith said, stressingthat cryptocurrency to both American customers and criminals is appealing, because of its fast transaction speed.
Investigators are discovering an increasing number of criminals turning stolen BTC as well as other cryptocurrencies into stablecoins, according to Smith.
