A Trail woman was defrauded of $15,000 in a cryptocurrency scam.
A media release from Trail RCMP says the woman contacted police on February 23 after investing in a cryptocurrency exchange website.
The woman joined the website after seeing it on social media, which claimed to offer high returns on money invested.
Initially, she was going to invest $500; however, she was persuaded over the course of two weeks to invest up to $15,000.
When she tried to withdraw the money, she did not receive any funds back due to a number of issues.
At that point, she realized she was likely a victim of a scam and withdrew from the platform, ceasing any further investments.
Days later, she received an email threatening violence against her in an attempt to extort more money, which is when she contacted police for help.
Police advised her to block all emails and not engage with anyone affiliated with the alleged cryptocurrency investment. She was also told to notify her financial institutions of the incident.
“Cryptocurrency scams often promise quick and easy riches. I highly recommend avoiding cryptocurrency investments, as they are often unregulated and do not provide any investor protection. Cryptocurrency is known to be a very high-risk and speculative way to invest. Most people will likely lose all of their invested money,” says Sgt. Wicentowich.
For more information on cryptocurrency scams, please visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.
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