The latest news revealed that a newbie crypto investor was scammed by an imposter who claimed to be a crypto investment expert. The fraudulent activity, which began late last year, has plunged the victim into a $190,000 debt that requires her to sell her home to recover.
According to the report, the victim, identified as Jennifer, living in Lanarkshire, was a first-time crypto investor. She reportedly walked into the trap of an online scammer who disguised himself using an image of a reputed British finance guru, which cost her $190,000 in debt.
In late 2022, Jennifer crossed paths with an online investment opportunity, which Martin Lewis, a prominent UK consumer expert adviser, supposedly approved. She fell for the scam and took advantage of the opportunity by investing her savings.
According to the report, the mother of two was firmly persuaded by her scammer to take multiple loans from Revolut, a fintech firm. Each loan is worth about $25,000. She continued to take the loan for about ten days in a row, as reported.
Jennifer’s delusion and the quest for profitable investment spearheaded by a scammer ended when her local bank intervened, stopping further loan acquisition. However, it was too late, as the victim had already incurred a loan debt worth $190,000 in ten days.
To pay her debt, the mother of two would have to sell her house, leaving the kids and her homeless. Unfortunately, her case was a scam case where she couldn’t reclaim her funds, unlike a fraud case which gives hope of recovering lost assets.
Commenters Warn Investors To Be Wary Of Scammy Investment Opportunities
Speaking in an interview, Jennifer related that it was her years to acquire her wealth. Losing money, especially her house was a devastating occurrence, she reported. However, she grieved that she had incurred such a large amount before her bank stopped her.
Commenting on the incident, Advice Direct Scotland’s policy director, Conor Forbes, sympathized with Jennifer. She acknowledged that her case was gruesome, given the amount she lost. Forbes added that the government would do all it could to support the victim.
Martin Lewis, a famous finance expert, urged investors to be wary of any investment opportunity which claimed to be endorsed by him, just like the case of the woman. He expressed his heartfelt sympathy to the victim.
Lewis further warned that scamming people is getting more rampant in the UK as little or no punishment is melted for scammers. He suggested that until efficient criminal sanctions and fines are set in place, the rate would keep increasing.
Lastly, he warned that any ads with his name or image are a scam. He explained that he does not participate in adverts, and he has a reputation for being one of the most common faces that criminals illegally use to lure their victims into their schemes.
Another Crypto Scam Victim Set To Sell His Nudist Beach
Similarly, a wealthy Scottish estate owner reportedly lost about $160,000 to scam cryptocurrency exchange. According to him, he thought he had made a sum of $500,000 on the scam site. However, it dawned on him when he couldn’t withdraw his earnings.
He said he might have to sell his nudist beach to repay the losses. The UK advertising regulators reportedly stated that with the aid of AI and web scraping tools, it would soon catch up with those sharing misleading and dubious crypto ads.
According to statistics, the funds lost to crypto scams rose to about $245 million between Oct. 2021 and Sept. 2022. That is an increment of about 32%, despite the regulators’ effort to clamp down on the perpetrators.
