The “Friendly Trader” Who Almost Pulled Me Into a Telegram Investment Trap

I want to share something that happened recently because it opened my eyes to how subtle social media scams can be. It all began with a message on Telegram from someone who introduced himself as a “crypto mentor.” He said he found my username through a trading discussion group. At first, I didn’t think much of it because people talk in those groups all the time.

He sounded friendly. Almost too friendly.
He said things like: You seem smart… you remind me of one of my early students… let me guide you if you want.
That kind of flattery can easily pull someone in before they realize it.

He kept sending screenshots of huge profits:
1000 USDT → 3400 USDT
2500 USDT → 9800 USDT
All in a single day.
It looked impressive, but something about it felt too “perfect”.

What made me pause was this: every screenshot had the exact same layout, the same font, the same color scheme. They were different trades, but everything looked identical. That’s when I began to suspect they were edited or taken from another trading app entirely.

Then he asked me to join a “private group” where he claimed he taught people 1-on-1. I joined just to observe. Inside the group, everyone seemed overly positive, almost scripted.
Messages like:
“Thank you master!”
“You changed my life!”
“I just doubled my portfolio!”
It felt staged… like a room full of actors.

Finally he asked me to deposit money onto a website I had never heard of so he could “trade on my behalf”. He insisted it was safe, and that I would “see results within 24 hours”. When I told him I wanted to look up the platform first, he became impatient. He said:

If you trust me, do it now… if you start asking too many questions, opportunities disappear.

That was the moment I decided to step back.
A genuine professional never pressures anyone.
A genuine professional never avoids questions.
A genuine professional never demands deposits into a platform you cannot verify.

I later checked the domain he gave me. It had been registered only 18 days earlier. No reviews. No history. Nothing. It was basically a shell website designed to collect deposits and vanish.

I did not lose anything, but I easily could have.
If you ever find yourself dealing with someone who is overly nice, overly convincing, overly “available”, pay attention. These scammers work like salespeople, and they know exactly how to talk to you until you lower your guard.

Be careful with anyone who claims guaranteed results, anyone who pushes urgency, or anyone who asks you to use a platform you cannot independently verify. Social media is full of wolves wearing friendly faces.