Greg's Corner

Scam victim ends up with a briefcase full of toilet paper

By Greg Collier

Opinions differ on whether cryptocurrencies are scams themselves, but due to the decentralized nature of crypto, it is vulnerable to scams. Not only that, but the get-rich-quick possibility that some see in cryptocurrencies leave them vulnerable to scams as well.

One of the more popular crypto scams lately is a form of advance fee scam. Typically, scammers have been finding their victims on dating platforms. The victim is told the person they’ve matched with works for a financial company, and they can guarantee a profit if the victim invests in cryptocurrency. The catch is that the person they’ve just met will invest the money for them.

After the victim gives the scammer money, the victim is later told that his initial investment has multiplied. However, in order to cash out, the victim needs to make another payment for ‘processing fees’ or some other made up charge. It’s usually at this point that the victim realizes they’ve been scammed.

That’s not exactly what happened to a 26-year-old Colorado man, but he fell for a similar crypto scam, and ended up with an insulting consolation prize. The invested $23,000 on what he thought was a legitimate crypto investment he found on Instagram. The victim paid the money to the scammers through Cash App and Bitcoin.

After a while, the victim received a briefcase that was supposed to contain the return on his investment of $210,000. But he was also told that he needed to pay $9000 to get the combination to the briefcase, which he did. Once the briefcase was opened, it contained nothing but books and toilet paper.

The cryptocurrency market attracts countless con artists, and their favorite way to advertise is on social media. They almost always promise a guaranteed return in any investment made. In truth, no one can guarantee a profitable investment. This goes for investments in traditional financial markets as well. Anyone who says they can, is just selling you a bill of goods.

Cryptocurrency should only be invested in if you’re familiar with the cryptocurrency market. Even then, as with most investments, you should only invest what you can afford to lose. Otherwise, you’re just gambling to pay the bills.