This case occurred in 2023. The victim, named Maria, who had never previously invested in crypto-assets, was first enticed to undertake a short online trading course on investments. This course was undertaken with a fraudulent entity which even issued a fake accreditation certificate to the victim confirming that she had successfully completed the course with excellent results. This was all part of a scheme to encourage her to start trading investments with them.
After completing this fake course, Maria was allocated a purported trader named Elena. Maria believed she was investing in bitcoin and that Elena was assisting her in trading crypto-assets to earn substantial profits.
Before commencing trading, Maria first transferred funds from her bank account to her own account with a well-known digital bankand to an own account she was instructed to open with a digital payments platform focused on crypto. Under the instructions and directions of the fraudster, Maria’s funds were then converted into bitcoin and transferred to wallet addresses that were communicated to her by Elena.
Within one week she made seven substantial payments, most of which higher than €2,000. Given that certain payments exceeded the bank’s limits on her account, Maria personally called the bank a number of times for the bank to increase her spending limits so that the intended transfers could go through.
The scope of all these bank transfers were to trade in crypto-assets. Such aspect, however, was not communicated nor emerged during the various telephone conversations that the victim held with representatives of the bank. During such conversations Maria only limited herself to communicate that the transfers were intended to just serve as top-ups to other accounts she held with third parties. She refrained from explaining to the bank the real reason for the transfers.
Maria used to communicate with the fraudster through the messaging app, Messenger. By the time she discovered that this was all a scam she had lost close to €30,000.
Warning signs and red flags:
- Online training course on investments with an unknown entity or institution which is not officially recognised.
- The person offering guidance or advice was not a licensed person.
- Communications through electronic devices only, with no in-person meetings.
- Indications of easy substantial profits occurring over a short period of time.
Disclaimer: This account is based on a real-life case investigated by the authorities. While the events and figures described are factual, names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.