Scam Type

Advance Fee Scam, Fraudulent Trading Platform

Red Flag

  • Cold-text recruitment.
  • Obscure “ghost booking” concept.
  • Sudden negative balance claims, and refusal to release funds.

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

Lured with promises of easy commissions, orchestrated crypto transfers, manipulated account displays with fake gains, and imposed additional payments under false pretenses.

Potential Lost Funds

$30,000+

Final Outcome

All funds trapped; no withdrawals granted; recovery unattained.