Greg's Corner

Wellness Visit Reveals Cryptocurrency Scam

By Greg Collier

Cryptocurrency scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, exploiting the rise of digital investments and the trust individuals place in online platforms. In one recent case, a person was led to believe they were participating in a legitimate cryptocurrency investment opportunity. What initially appeared to be a chance to grow retirement savings turned into a financial disaster, leaving the individual in shock after losing their life savings in what is known as a ‘pig butchering’ scam.

This type of scam works by ‘fattening up’ the victim, slowly gaining their trust through months of seemingly innocent conversations before introducing fraudulent investment opportunities. In this case, the scam began with friendly online exchanges. After connecting on social media, the conversation quickly moved to a private messaging platform like WhatsApp, a tactic commonly used in scams to make communication more difficult to trace.

Over months of online chats, the victim built trust with the scammer, who eventually introduced the idea of investing in cryptocurrency. The scammer presented a fake cryptocurrency platform, complete with professional-looking accounts that showed significant returns. The victim, believing they were making real money, increased their investments, eventually putting in a large sum of money.

The situation came to light when Adult Protection Services showed up at the victim’s home. The agency had been notified that large sums of money were being wired, and they were concerned about possible exploitation. It was during this visit that the victim learned they had been caught in a scam. The cryptocurrency platform was fake, the account was fabricated, and even the person they had trusted was not who they claimed to be.

The pig butchering scam in this case involved highly sophisticated deception. The scammers used a convincing website that appeared identical to trusted cryptocurrency platforms. The victim’s growing sense of security, fostered through long conversations and fake profits, led them to invest increasingly large amounts of money. By the time the scam was uncovered, the victim had lost a substantial sum and had even taken out loans to cover fees for what they believed was a growing investment account.

Despite attempts to reverse the wire transfers, the money could not be recovered. The victim was left with not only financial losses, but also the emotional toll of realizing how deeply they had been manipulated. This incident illustrates the dangers of pig butchering scams, where trust is built over time before the victim’s finances are wiped out.

It’s crucial to be skeptical of unsolicited investment opportunities, especially those introduced through online connections. The devastating consequences of falling victim to such scams are a reminder to verify the legitimacy of any investment platform and to be cautious of moving conversations off more public platforms where fraud can be harder to trace.