How I got bitten in cryptocurrency con

“LAST year I found myself in a really good position with a chunk of money saved away in a savings account.”

So begins the story of a Derbyshire investor who, finding it hard to make money with investments or savings, came across a tempting advert on Facebook about a cryptocurrency investment company that talked about good returns.

She visited a website and, despite not knowing much about Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, was given the impression she did not have to.

Her account would be dealt with by a handler. “It sounded fantastic, so I signed up,” the investor, played by an actress, says in the video from Derbyshire police.

She was told she should make a small initial investment and see how she got on. She was then contacted by a service rep to say her cash was doing well and she should send more. “They seemed so nice and professional,” says the investor. “They said to me that my initial investment was making money and I should think about sending a bit more to top that up further.

“You know, It just sounded so fantastic. My money was making a profit, so I sent a little bit more... and then a little bit more. Every interaction was just so perfect. They said that the market was flourishing and I was going to get a really big return..

“In hindsight I should have checked what they were telling me but I didn’t know where to look, so I just trusted them. Then suddenly things changed. I started getting messages pressuring me to send more money.

“My handler told me that there had been a blip in the market but with another big investment I’d make the money back with more on top. It sounded odd, so I just did nothing. But the messages kept on coming. My handler was sending dozens a day pressuring me to send more money and talking about this big return. In the end I just had enough so I asked for my money back. They told me that wasn’t possible and the investment had actually made a loss... they even told me that I owed them money to cover the losses. I couldn’t believe it... I had used all my savings to fund this investment and they had gone.”

With the handler declining to help her, the situation started to unravel. The investor’s bank was unable to assist her, as it could not substantiate what had happened.

Then the investor discovered that, despite it having a UK phone number, the service was not registered here. Also, a lot of its five-star reviews were fake and there were hundreds more to say it was a scam.

The investor says she feels “powerless” in trying to find out who scammed her, adding: “I am living from paycheque to paycheque. I don’t have that financial security now my savings are gone.”