Victims of an international cryptocurrency trading scam called CryptoRom were charged hundreds of thousands of dollars when they attempt to withdraw their investments, according to the follow-up research of cybersecurity firm Sophos. Scammers also freeze their accounts to prevent them from securing their investments.
The new report “CryptoRom Swindlers Continue to Target Vulnerable iPhone/Android Users,” is based on first-hand stories and content shared with Sophos by victims of the scam who got in touch after seeing Sophos’ previous reports on CryptoRom.
CryptoRom scam targets its victims through popular dating apps, such as Bumble and Tinder (cryptocurrency romance or CryptoRom).
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According to Sophos, one case had a victim charged $625,000 to regain access to the $1 million invested in a fake crypto-trading scheme recommended by someone he or she met on an online dating platform. The dating “friend” then claimed to have invested some of their own money to bring their joint stake up to $4 million. To sweeten the deal, the scammers claimed that the investment made a profit of $3.13 million, and is liable for a 20% profit tax, or $625,000, that needs to be paid to access the account and withdraw funds.
“In fact, neither the co-investment nor the profits were real, and the online ‘friend’ was part of the scam,” Sophos…
