Over $222K drained from US retiree in crypto romance scam! What are the key threats this year?

A retired resident living in Florence, Alabama lost over $222,000 of savings in a cryptocurrency-linked scam, court filings submitted this week in federal court reveal. The perpetrators allegedly posed as a young woman online, guiding the victim to transfer funds into fake crypto wallets under their control.

Federal asset seizure moves forward

The U.S. government has initiated legal proceedings to permanently confiscate the seized assets. Federal investigators traced the flow of money across several wallets and platforms before securing a federal warrant to search and seize the funds.

Prosecutors detailed that the victim first transferred money from a personal bank account into a Coinbase account, before moving it to wallets operated by the scammers. Authorities stated that more than $222,000 in USDT switched hands between multiple wallets and platforms before law enforcement ultimately intercepted the funds.

Inside the scam’s operation

According to court documents, the case centers on a scam that relied on establishing a long-term relationship built on trust. The person, using the name “Bella” and claiming to be a 23-year-old woman, contacted the victim and later offered to help with cryptocurrency investments. Communication eventually shifted to the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, adding a romantic dimension to the contact.

Glossary: Forfeiture refers to a legal process where the state seizes assets determined to be criminal proceeds or used in crime. Telegram is a messaging app offering end-to-end encryption options.

The documents show that the fraudster provided step-by-step instructions to the victim on how to move money out of their bank account. The scheme relied on fostering trust over weeks or months, ultimately luring victims onto fake investment platforms. So far, no suspects have been publicly identified in the Florence case.

New 2024 data expose the scale of threat

Blockchain security firm Cyvers released data in February 2025 revealing that scams like this cost investors $5.5 billion in 2024. The company reported 200,000 individual cases tracked on the Ethereum network alone. According to Chainalysis, this specific scam method accounted for 33.2% of all crypto fraud revenues in the same period, with incoming funds to these scams rising about 210% year on year.

Michael Pearl, Vice President of Strategy at Cyvers, described this approach as by far the most significant threat facing crypto investors. Pearl noted that even direct attack incidents, which resulted in $2.3 billion in losses across 165 cases in 2024, paled by comparison.

Victims face staggering personal losses

According to Cyvers, 75% of victims lost more than half of their net assets. In 35% of cases, the trust-building process lasted one to two weeks, while some cases extended up to three months. The most frequently targeted group was men between the ages of 30 and 49, data revealed.

It remains unclear whether the seized funds in the Florence case will be returned to the victim. Prosecutors stated that, given perpetrators are often located overseas, lawsuits in such scams are typically filed directly against the crypto assets themselves.

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