This case involves fifteen material payments made over a six-month period during 2024, for investments in crypto-assets.
The victim, Charles had unknowingly been in contact with a fraudster who claimed to be a representative of an online investment platform.
An account was first opened with a licensed cryptocurrency exchange, and Charles immediately converted the funds he had transferred from his bank account into cryptocurrency. Under the guidance of the fraudsters, Charles then instructed the exchange to transfer his crypto-assets to external wallets, with the purpose of investing in cryptocurrency on the investment platform, which turned out to be a fraudulent platform.
The crypto-assets were transferred to four different external wallets controlled by the fraudsters. These wallets were non-custodial wallets, meaning they were not serviced by the licensed cryptocurrency exchange or identified from data on the blockchain.
Once the crypto-assets were transferred to these external non-custodial wallets, Charles no longer had control over or access to them and incurred a loss of over €225,000.
Warning signs and red flags:
- Veracity and authenticity of the overseas-based investment platform not confirmed.
- Lack of clarity and no verification of the owner of the external wallets to which assets are to be transferred.
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.