Scam Type

Cryptocurrency Investment Scam

Red Flag

  • Claims of guaranteed profits through coordinated trades.
  • Inability to withdraw funds despite a large account balance.
  • Disappearance or silence after the victim tried to access her money.

Details

The victim joined a trading blog on social media, where he met two individuals—“Mr. Charlie” and “Tina”—claiming to represent Fitbela Epro Limited, a UK-based Forex trading firm. They persuaded him to open a Forex trading account on the Meta 5 Trading platform and promised high returns. The victim initially invested $10,000 and was told the account had grown significantly, prompting him to invest even more. Following their direction, he eventually sent a total of $92,000 via wire transfer. Later, they claimed his account was now worth $200,000. When the victim attempted to withdraw his funds, he was told he needed to pay $87,000 in taxes before any money could be released. At that point, he recognized it as a scam.

Scammer Behaviour

The scammers used a fake investor group on WhatsApp to create a sense of community and trust, promoting coordinated trades and promising high returns. They directed the victim to a fraudulent website impersonating a legitimate exchange, inflated her account balance to encourage more investment, and then blocked withdrawals once a large amount had been deposited.

Potential Lost Funds

$50,000

Final Outcome

The victim was unable to withdraw any funds and lost the entire investment. The website and group were part of a coordinated scam impersonating a trusted exchange.