A 61-year-old Trail woman has fallen victim to an elaborate online cryptocurrency fraud.
The woman joined a cryptocurrency trading platform website after seeing an advertisement on social media. She began making incremental investments at the recommendation of her online ‘advisor’ who promised ‘fabulous’ returns on her initial investment.
The woman eventually provided access to her bank account to her advisor and encouraged to invest more and more by the advisor.
The woman was eventually asked to pay a $10,000 ‘crypto tax’ on her investment earnings.
After the tax was paid, the woman became suspicious that she was being defrauded as she was not able to access any of her alleged monetary gains. The woman believed she invested and lost up to $37,000 to the scam.
The woman took steps to secure her account and stop any further bank withdrawals, however, the money is not recoverable.
“Investing in cryptocurrency can carry an extremely high risk of losing your invested funds. This does not include the risk of being defrauded via fake advisors and cryptocurrency websites. Anyone can set up a fake website that appears legitimate but the sole purpose is to steal your money. Remember, no one can or should promise you large returns on your investments nor should they be allowed access to your bank accounts. Investors are recommend to use trusted institutions and accredited investment advisors with proven money management track records to better protect your money,” said Sgt. Mike Wicentowich.
For more information on crypto currency frauds and scams please visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.
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