A scammer based in Nigeria allegedly impersonated a co-chair of the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee to steal $250,000 in cryptocurrency from a donor. The fraud involved sending an email that closely mimicked a legitimate address, using a slight change in a character that escaped notice. Believing the communication was genuine, the victim sent 250,300 USDT.ETH to the criminal's crypto wallet. The FBI managed to trace some of the stolen crypto through blockchain analytics, successfully recovering $40,300 of the funds. The incident highlights the increasing sophistication of scams exploiting trust in political figures and the irreversible nature of cryptocurrency transactions. Experts warn that advancements in AI and deepfake technology pose new threats in this area, suggesting a need for a collaborative cross-sector approach to combat rising scams. Authorities in Australia are simultaneously addressing a wave of crypto scams targeting users by using sophisticated phishing tactics.

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