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We recently received a detailed complaint from an individual caught in a highly sophisticated cryptocurrency scam.
The victim’s losses amount to over $800,000, spread across several months of seemingly legitimate investment transactions involving Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The scam began in December 2023 and extended through mid-2024.
Multiple transfers were executed under the impression that the funds would be invested for substantial returns.
Unfortunately, as is often the case with such scams, the victim’s attempts to withdraw the supposed profits were blocked with excuses.
Scammers posed as account managers and brokers and continuously requested additional fees, commissions, and taxes to facilitate withdrawals.
This stalling tactic aimed to extract even more money after the victim had invested a significant portion of their funds.
Every time the victim asked for a withdrawal, they were pressured into making additional payments under the guise of resolving the issue.
Throughout the ordeal, the scammers communicated frequently with the victim, often using persuasive tactics to build trust and credibility.
At one point, they even gained remote access to the victim’s computer, further securing their control over the victim’s assets.
It’s important to note that while platforms like Kraken and Binance were used in the scam, they are not implicated in any wrongdoing.
These exchanges were likely the channels through which the victim transferred the funds, but the fraudulent activity occurred elsewhere.
One of the critical elements of this case is the clear paper trail left by the scammers.
The cryptocurrency transactions were funneled through various wallet addresses, each tied to significant transfers.
For instance, on December 15, 2023, 41.429 ETH was sent to wallet 0xaA671EcC19c1604F37DBB04931D63784B80ad85E, totaling $94,582.
More Ethereum followed, including 43.955 ETH on January 23, 2024 (valued at $101,097), and another 43.689 ETH the next day ($98,956).
The victim had already lost a combined $294,634 to this wallet in just a short span.
The scam continued as another wallet, 0xad4a9ba1a9C050145E8b2B829194EAc8a40390c5, received 49 ETH on May 15, 2024, worth $150,000.
On the Bitcoin side, the victim transferred 0.6629 BTC and 0.7500 BTC to address 3JFYuv4ESnccc8F42BWTxzhYB5Xaq6QYiK on June 8, 2024, for $46,058 and $52,075, respectively.
This Bitcoin activity continued over the following weeks, ultimately totaling $266,133.
The scam concluded with a final transfer of 28 ETH to wallet 0xbc6710C3B8A98447DD2891eD116546178d642D2d on July 23, 2024, valued at $100,000.
The victim’s total loss across these transactions amounted to a staggering $810,767.