The British lost almost $200 000 in BTC as a result of dating scam – Bits Media

A UK resident became a victim of cryptocurrency fraud on a dating site.. He posted 150 000 pounds sterling (about $200 000) in bitcoins on a fake trading platform.

According to Tom (false name of the victim), on a dating site he met woman, introducing herself as Jia from Hong Kong. During a multi-day correspondence, the woman told, that she is a successful and experienced cryptocurrency investor, and began to describe the benefits of investing money in digital assets.

The scammer reported, that he is going to come to the UK and, together with Tom, make money on cryptocurrency. The Brit told Jia, that he has previously invested in cryptocurrency and has bitcoins in his wallet.

During the correspondence, the fraudster convinced Tom that, that she has inside information, which will help them earn money together. She sent him a link to a supposed trading platform and offered to install the platform’s mobile application.

Jia then convinced Tom to place it on her 150 000 pounds sterling (about $200 000) в BTC. After that, how a British man placed bitcoins on the site, they disappeared from his deposit.

He informed Jia about the disappearance of cryptocurrency from the platform and asked for help in returning the money. However, she refused to help him, citing that, that she needed to visit a seriously ill aunt in Australia and stopped communicating. When Tom realized, that I was a victim of fraud, he filed a report with local law enforcement agencies.

Fraudsters are increasingly finding victims on dating sites. In the period p 1 january 2021 years to 31 july 2021 year the FBI received more than 1 800 complaints, related to this method of cryptocurrency fraud. The victims' losses are estimated at $133.4 mln.

Last year, Sophos warned iOS users about the rise in victims of a new type of cryptocurrency scam, CryptoRom.. Attackers used a dating site to convince users to install a fake application for trading cryptocurrency, and then offered to invest money in various projects.