The US Secret Service has confiscated $102 million in cryptocurrencies since 2015

The main tasks of the federal agency are the prevention of counterfeiting of dollars, debt obligations, the protection of the president and high-ranking officials, as well as the investigation of various types of financial fraud and cybercrime.

“When you follow a cryptocurrency wallet, it is no different than an email address that has some associated identifiers. And as soon as two parties make a transaction, it gets into the blockchain, and we have the ability to trace this email or wallet address, ”David Smith, deputy director of investigations for the service, explained.

One of the cases concerns a scam that targeted 900 US citizens. The investigation was conducted by the Romanian police – the scheme involved the placement of fake ads on online auctions and sites selling luxury goods. After payment, the attackers disappeared, and the money received was laundered through cryptocurrencies.

In August 2020, the US Department of Justice filed lawsuit for the confiscation of cryptocurrency from 280 accounts. According to the department, they are related to attacks carried out by North Korean hackers.

In March 2022, a resident of Massachusetts sentenced to eight years in prison for drug trafficking and confiscated roughly $2.3 million worth of cryptocurrencies.

Recall that Chainalysis named darknet markets largest source illegal receipts of cryptocurrencies. For 2021 cybercriminals laundered $8.6 billion worth of digital assets which is 30% more than in 2020.