Newly proposed legislation could see the US Treasury, FinCEN, the Secret Service, and law enforcement coordinate to catch crypto scammers and fraudsters.
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Two US Senators have introduced legislation aimed at cracking down on crypto fraud and scams by equipping law enforcement with better tools to spot attacks and identify perpetrators.
The Strengthening Agency Frameworks for Enforcement of Cryptocurrency (SAFE) Act, by Democrat Elissa Slotkin and Republican Jerry Moran on Monday, to coordinate action between the US Treasury, law enforcement, regulators and private sector players to tackle crypto fraud and scams.
“This task force, established by the SAFE Cryptocurrency Act, will allow us to draw upon every resource we have to combat fraud in digital assets,” Slotkin said, while Moran added:
“As cryptocurrency becomes more widely used, this legislation would help counter threats and make certain all Americans are better protected from crypto scams.”
The reported to crypto-related investment scams in 2024, marking a . Individuals over 60 were the worst affected, accounting for losses of $2.84 billion.
It should be noted that the figure includes any investment scam that simply mentions crypto as part of its ploy. Many do not involve blockchain or cryptocurrencies.
Despite public and private efforts to raise awareness, and scammers have found to steal funds from investors.
However, Gabriel Shapiro, general counsel of crypto investment firm Delphi Labs, noted that a successful implementation of the SAFE Crypto Act could prompt crypto fraudsters and scammers into a state of panic .
“Scammers will probably end up shitting themselves if this goes hard,” Shapiro in a post to X on Tuesday, that the attorney general, the director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the director of the United States Secret Service would be among the highest-ranking officials involved in pursuing
Shapiro said the SAFE Crypto Act could be “very useful” as the US securities and commodity regulators currently aren’t as focused on enforcement action against hackers, scammers and Ponzi scheme operators.
Blockchain forensic firm TRM Labs is among the private sector players ready to assist US officials, with its vice president and global head of policy, Ari Redbord, stating that a collaboration would help track and disrupt illicit networks in real-time:
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“By bringing industry and law enforcement together, we can meaningfully reduce criminals’ ability to exploit transformative technologies for harm.”
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