On May 17th, the US Secret Service seized a domain used for cryptocurrency trust fraud in a "pig-killing plate" scam. In the "pig-killing plate" scam, scammers contact victims through various means, including dating apps, social media websites, and even random text messages disguised as wrong numbers.

Scammers establish relationships with victims and slowly gain their trust, ultimately introducing the idea of using cryptocurrency for business investment. Victims are directed to other members involved in the scheme who operate fake cryptocurrency investment platforms, where victims are convinced to invest funds. Once funds are transferred to the fake investment application, victims suffer significant losses.

According to court records, between August 2022 and July 2023, scammers induced a victim in Warren County to transfer funds to the now-seized domain OKEX-NFT.net. Scammers used the aforementioned trust-building techniques to make the victim believe he/she was engaging in legitimate cryptocurrency investment.

After the victim transferred investment funds to the deposit address associated with the seized domain provided by the scammer, the victim's funds were immediately transferred through multiple bank accounts to conceal the source of funds. Overall, the victim suffered losses exceeding $341,000.