New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit seeking to recover over $2 million in cryptocurrency that was fraudulently taken from victims who were misled into believing they could secure remote work opportunities. These scams involved sending text messages that promised well-paying jobs, only for victims to end up purchasing cryptocurrency under false pretenses. The scammers directed the victims to create crypto accounts, deposit funds, and supposedly review products on fake websites resembling legitimate brands. They were led to believe that maintaining a crypto balance was necessary to legitimize their work and that they would recover their funds, but ultimately, they received nothing. With assistance from the US Secret Service, the Attorney General reported that the stolen crypto has been frozen, and she advised the public to be vigilant about job offers from unknown sources. This lawsuit follows a warning from the FBI about the rising trend of job advertisement scams in which scammers instruct victims to make payments in cryptocurrency to unlock job opportunities, leading to further exploitation.

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