Google on Thursday took a groundbreaking step in its will to the fight against cryptocurrency linked scans. It filed a lawsuit against a group accused of defrauding more than 100,000 individuals worldwide through fraudulent investment and crypto exchange apps on Google Play.
Google takes big action against scam apps
According to reports, the tech giant in the lawsuit had alleged that the defendants used various deceptive tactics to upload 87 fraudulent apps to Google Play. This includes misrepresentations about their identity and the nature of their applications.
Google asserts that this legal action had set a major example to safeguard users, while, combating with fraudulent activities in the crypto space.
Its general counsel, Halimah DeLaine Prado stated that this initiative is a big opportunity to protect users and prevent future bad actors. She highlighted the huge amount of crypto linked fraud in 2023 and stressed Google’s commitment to fighting such schemes.
As earlier reported, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that the losses from crypto investment scams in just the United States stood at $3.94 billion in 2023. It is an increase of 53% compared to $2.57 billion in 2022.
What happened exactly?
As we dig in, the lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York mentioned Yunfeng Sun and Hongnam Cheung as the alleged masterminds running the scheme. This has reportedly been running since 2019.
The defendants in the case allegedly bring in the victims through various digital techniques. This includes text message campaigns, online promotional videos, and affiliate marketing campaigns.
The report mentions that these fraudulent apps were made to look legitimate. They falsely assured users of investment returns and balances. However, when a user wants to withdraw their funds, the alleged persons prevent them from doing so.
Some victims who fell for higher returns were even forced into paying additional fees just to access their assumed gains. This resulted in higher financial losses for the users.
This major development comes in when the digital assets market is witnessing a minor downturn. The crypto market is battling with high selling pressure right now. The cumulative crypto market cap dropped marginally on Thursday as the top tokens printed red indexes. It now stands at $2.51 trillion. The 24 trading volume has also dropped by 21% to stand at $93 billion. However, Bitcoin’s dominance is up by 0.07%.
