My friend Samantha, a single mother trying to build a side income, joined a Facebook group called “Crypto Growth Circle” after seeing it suggested in her feed. The group had thousands of members and was filled with posts showing people “earning daily passive income” from a decentralized trading app. The admins frequently posted live updates, screenshots of massive profits, and “payment proofs” from PayPal and Binance.

Samantha messaged one of the admins, who introduced her to their “community staking plan.” The offer was simple: invest $500 or more in USDT, and the app would automatically trade on your behalf with “AI-powered bots,” delivering guaranteed 15% monthly returns.

Desperate to improve her financial situation, she scraped together $1,000 and sent the funds. The admin gave her access to a dashboard that looked like a real trading platform—her balance updated daily, and it showed steady returns.

But after a few weeks, when she tried to withdraw just $200, she was told she needed to first “unlock her earnings” by depositing another $300. Confused, she asked questions. The admin began ignoring her. Soon after, the group was gone—deleted. Her dashboard stopped working, and her funds were lost.

We later found out the group had been cloned from another, and that it rebranded every two months under a new name. The same scammers reused screenshots, just changing usernames and wallet addresses.

Samantha’s loss wasn’t just about the money—it crushed her confidence. It made her feel like she had failed when in reality, she was preyed upon by professionals who knew exactly how to exploit trust.

If you’re thinking about joining a crypto group on Facebook, especially one advertising “passive income,” research outside of that group. Look for real user reviews, check for scam reports, and most importantly—never send crypto to people you’ve only spoken to in a chat box.