PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The value of cryptocurrency has plummeted so much that financial experts have dubbed it the “crypto winter.”
But despite the chill, crypto scams continue to heat up, reaching record highs in the number of complaints.
The Federal Trade Commission said cryptocurrency scams now far exceed any fraud.
And the scammers are utilizing social media to prey on their victims including John who asked us to hide his identity due to the embarrassment.
“Never in my lifetime did I think that I would be a victim,” he said.
John said he found an advertisement on Instagram to invest in Bitcoin Mining, an investing space about which he was curious.
“And they’re very pushy, you know, and I didn’t invest right away,” he said.
John said he was baited by the slick and professional website called Safe Coin Miners, which our investigation traced back to Nigeria.
It claimed investment returns from 84% to over 100% mining for cryptocurrency.
Simply put, crypto mining is the process of using powerful computers to create new digital currency through encryption algorithms.
“They wanted me to send them $500 because $500 would make you $3,500. And I said, ‘How’s this possible?'” John recalled
It isn’t. Yet he invested.
John said the next day his account showed a balance of $3,500, which was seven times his original investment.
“It was exactly like I hit the lottery,” he said.
So John said after seeing that return on paper, he began sending more money.
But now it’s all gone.
“I just got suckered,”…
