Episode 143 of the Public Key podcast is here! We bring back one of our most popular episodes of 2024. From Silk Road investigations to assisting countries create their Asset Forfeiture programs, Joanna Summers, Chief Recovery Officer of Asset Reality, is here to share what happens to all those sensational assets that law enforcement around the world sixteen and how digital assets impact the recovery process. We also stitch in some recent insights from Joanna on the latest crypto scams, FATF's 2025 asset recovery initiatives, and Asset Reality's exciting new training programs and partnerships.
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Public Key Episode 143: From Silk Road to Crypto Seizures: Inside the World of Digital Asset Recovery
Whether it is seizing restaurants, hotels, cars or Bitcoin, our guest, Joanna SummersChief Recovery Officer of Asset Realityhas done it all with over a decade of experience working in both the public and private sector on complex asset forfeitures.
In this episode, Ian Andrews (Host) speaks to Joanna about developing asset forfeiture programs for countries all over the world and working with the Asset Reality team on their new platform to streamline the asset seizure process.
Joanna shares her history at the US Marshal Service Asset Forfeiture Division and how cryptocurrency slowly started to play a bigger role in investigations and seizures, including major cases like Silk Road.
This episode was originally published on February 27, 2024 and we have recorded some recent updates from Joanna Summers on the latest crypto scams, FATF's 2025 asset recovery initiatives, and Asset Reality's exciting new training programs and partnerships.
Quote of the episode
“Cryptocurrency is always facing new scams that can make people hesitant about their ability to safely send and receive crypto. So I'll give a few examples. One major issue that we see is address poisoning. Another would be clipboard hijacking, type of malware that changes the wallet address you can copy to a clipboard. The last one I'll mention is typo squatting, which is a newer tactic where scammers exploit typos to trick people into sending their funds to a scammer's wallet.” – Joanna Summers (Chief Recovery Officer, Asset Reality)
Minute-by-minute episode breakdown
2 | The role of asset forfeiture and the process of seizing and selling complex assets
6 | Joanna's first encounter with cryptocurrency during 2013 Silk Road investigation
9 | Joining Asset Reality and helping countries improve their asset forfeiture programs
13 | The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) focus on global asset recovery
17 | The digital asset recovery procedures and importance of moving crypto quickly into law enforcement controlled wallets
20 | Updated: FATF's asset recovery priorities for 2025
22 | The emergence of pig butchering scams and how to protect consumers
26 | Joanna's role as an ambassador for the Association for Women in Crypto
29 | Updated: New Crypto Crimes including: address poisoning, typo squatting and clipboard hijacking
32 | Updated: Taxbit Partnership and crypto recovery outlook for 2025
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