The Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) has launched a publicly accessible tracker to combat cryptocurrency and other investment scams.
This initiative, according to the agency, comes in response to nearly $3.55 million lost by Wisconsinites to financial grooming and cryptocurrency fraud between January 2022 and June 2024.
While the DFI doesn’t verify specific details and reported losses, the tracker serves as an alert system for potential threats to crypto investors. It aggregates consumer complaints to compile critical information on various threats, aiding public awareness and making it harder for scammers to deceive investors. The agency noted that it would be regularly updated and searchable by company name, scam type, or keyword.
Currently, the tracker contains 22 entries from past complaints, mostly involving victims of pig butchering scams and fraudulent crypto trading platforms.
The DFI urges Wisconsinites to exercise caution and avoid engaging with unknown entities promising unrealistic returns on cryptocurrency investments.
DFI Secretary Cheryll Olson-Collins highlighted the tool would help combat the recent rise in scammers taking advantage of public interest in crypto assets:
“Through our new investment scam tracker, combined with rigorous enforcement efforts, the DFI is committed to exposing these ruthless predators and safeguarding consumers and investors.”
Olson-Collins also cautioned about the risks of cryptocurrency transfers, noting their often untraceable and irreversible nature. She advised,
“To be safe, do not give money to anyone you meet online or allow them access to your bank account or digital wallet.“
This initiative aligns with broader efforts to combat scams in the crypto space, especially in the U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell, Marsha Blackburn, and Martin Heinrich recently proposed a bipartisan bill to tackle artificial intelligence (AI)- powered deep fake crypto scams. This bill titled the Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act (COPIED), mandates watermarking AI-created media to enhance transparency and protect creators’ control over their content.
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