Overview

• The advisory details how scammers impersonate attorneys and fictitious law firms using stolen letterhead, forged documents and precise victim data to promise fund recovery.
• Fraudsters coax previous crypto-scam victims into upfront payments in cryptocurrency or prepaid gift cards before funneling them into staged messaging groups with supposed “bank processors.”
• Key red flags include claims of government affiliations or fictitious regulatory entities, refusal to provide video verification or law licensure, instructions to open foreign bank accounts and demands for third-party payments.
• The FBI urges a zero-trust approach that requires requesting video verification and law licenses, keeping detailed records and reporting suspicious contacts to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
• Experts warn these recovery schemes are evolving in sophistication through breaches of legitimate law firms, recruitment of unwitting support staff and the use of AI-enabled deepfake tools.