SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A Bay Area man lost $1.2 million in a cryptocurrency scam that’s targeting Silicon Valley investors.
Federal investigators say cases of this fraud, known as “pig butchering,” are growing rapidly across California, specifically targeting Asian Americans.
How it happened
It was a million-dollar mistake.
VIDEO: Bay Area man loses $380K investing in cryptocurrency suggested by woman he met online
“I was shaking. I was collapsing,” said a man we’re calling CY to protect his identity.
It all started last October on WhatsApp.
“Someone approached me. I thought it was my old colleague from my previous job,” CY said. “She gained my trust. I was vulnerable at the time with my dying father.”
The woman called herself “Jessica.”
CY said she began messaging him every day for a month. After learning about his dying father, she offered him an opportunity with cryptocurrency as a way to help with funeral costs. CY didn’t tell his family at the time.
“I have a financial and accounting background, so I was being careful,” CY said. “I started with $5,000, $10,000 just to see how it is.”
RELATED: Job seekers scammed out of as much as $10,000 each by fake cryptocurrency business
CY sent money from his bank to a legitimate crypto-trading site. The funds eventually went to a platform Jessica sent him to make the trades. While the app she sent him appeared legitimate, CY learned the hard way that it wasn’t.
“It looked so real, so legitimate. I had no reason to doubt it was fake,” he…
