A good friend of mine, Jacob, recently experienced a severe financial setback due to a fake crypto trading bot scam. Jacob had been researching crypto trading bots, intrigued by the idea of passive income. He found an online advertisement for a trading platform called “AI Trade Genius,” claiming to utilize advanced artificial intelligence to generate guaranteed daily profits.

The platform appeared credible, with sophisticated charts, glowing testimonials, and active social media accounts posting frequent updates of successful trades. Convinced by their impressive presentation and high success rate, Jacob invested $2,000 initially.

At first, everything looked promising—the platform showed daily profits, boosting his confidence. Believing he had found an easy, passive income solution, Jacob deposited an additional $6,000.

When Jacob attempted his first withdrawal, the platform suddenly required extra fees for “regulatory compliance” and “transaction insurance.” Anxiously hoping to recover his investment, he paid an additional $800. Immediately afterward, communication stopped, and the “AI Trade Genius” website was taken offline, leaving Jacob devastated and financially strained.

Jacob’s subsequent research uncovered numerous warnings online from other victims who had been scammed by this same fake trading bot scheme. The scammers had cleverly created the illusion of profitable trades, tricking users into investing larger sums before disappearing completely.

This experience taught Jacob—and myself—to always carefully vet automated trading systems, avoid platforms promising guaranteed profits, and remain cautious of unexpected fees. Staying skeptical and doing thorough due diligence can prevent becoming another victim of similar scams.