Two women in Ontario have come forward to give their experience of losing money to crypto scammers, and to warn others. According to a report by CTV News Toronto, the two lost over $100,000 to scammers.
Details Of The Scam
Lee, not her real name, said that she felt devastated and did not know what to do. She said that the scammer approached her through her Facebook account. The scammers claimed they could teach her how to make easy money using cryptocurrency.
She claims that initially, everything worked out, and her money went up quickly. Initially, she invested $2000 and later increased her investment by a few more thousand. The person who contacted her encouraged her to invest more. Lee said that she invested all her savings and even withdrew her Registered Retirement Savings Plan. Besides that, she borrowed money from her friends to invest in the venture. She said that after investing $24,000, she decided to cash out but she was informed there was a $5000 tax as well as a $5000 miner’s tax. After that, her account was frozen and she believes she has lost it all.
Another victim of the scam Mel, not her real name, said that she invested in the crypto scam after meeting someone on a dating site. The scammer boasted about his trading accounts and requested that she let him teach her how to trade.
Initially, she invested a few thousand but invested more later on. When it appeared that her account was worth over $100K, she requested to withdraw. However, she was informed that there were taxes and fees if she wanted to receive her money. According to her, she was scammed of over $80,000 by the person she met through the dating site. Mel told CTV News Toronto that, “I know the money is gone, it’s probably all gone.”
Mel has accepted her fate. She noted that since she authorized the transfers, the bank could not say it was a fraud. According to her, she wants people to know that this was happening since more and more people might fall victim to the scammers.
What Experts Have To Say
According to David Khalif of Viridi Funds, a crypto expert, scammers often use social media to find victims. Khalif noted that one of the hardest parts about crypto was finding a trustworthy source. He cautioned investors to be careful when investment promises seemed too good to be trusted.
According to him, the person on the other side of the screen could be anyone in the world if you do not know them. His advice to investors is to conduct due diligence and only deal with reputable exchanges. He noted that once you sent money to someone, it was almost impossible to retrieve it.
While the crypto landscape is still fraught with fraudsters, it has matured enough to the point where there are genuine regulated platforms. New investors should stick to reputable and regulated platforms when investing in the crypto sector. As Khalif noted, one should do their due diligence to ensure that they are using a genuine platform.
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