A man who was conned out of £150,000 by a woman who he thought he was in a relationship with has spoken of his ordeal in the hope other people will not become innocent victims.
Tom, who is in his 30s and using a pseudonym to protect his real identity, was the victim of an elaborate cryptocurrency scam that started through a dating app and conned him out of his life savings.
He met a woman online who encouraged him to trade Bitcoin which initially returned a profit, manipulating Tom into believing the scam was legitimate and worth further investment.
However, after being unable to withdraw £1,000, he was ‘bullied into’ investing the remaining amount of his Bitcoin currency (BTC) before his balance was cleared and ‘there was no money remaining’.
After losing around £150,000, Tom sought advice from his mother, other family members and friends before reporting his experience to police and Action Fraud.
Tom’s experience prompted police to warn people about a sharp rise in online fraud involving victims being tricked into thinking they are in a romantic relationship when they are really being conned out of money.
Avon and Somerset Police said 20 to 30 ‘romance frauds’ are reported to them every month and in the 12 months up to last October a total of £2.4million was stolen.
Tom, who is in his 30s and using a pseudonym to protect his real identity, was the victim of an elaborate cryptocurrency scam that started through a dating app and conned him out of his life savings…
