Business was bad during the pandemic, so when mum-of-four Freya thought came across what she thought was a viable investment opportunity, she was sure it would turn everything around.
However, instead of changing her fortunes, she and her family soon discovered it was a cruel scam that would cost them a fortune.
Freya, 48, is now more than £30,000 out of pocket after being scammed by a mysterious and unlicensed cryptocurrency firm that claimed to be based in Canary Wharf.
‘It was devastating,’ she admits. ‘When something like this happens, it becomes hard to trust anyone again.’
Freya is one of many people who have fallen victim to con artists who promise huge payouts to people who invest in the volatile crypto markets – but end up being robbed of vast sums of money.
Digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ether operate without the need for central banks and government control, raising utopian hopes that crypto can be used to create a better, fairer financial system. However, its decentralised nature also offers criminals anonymity and the ability to target victims from anywhere in the world.
And the impact is not just financial, as crypto also poses a serious risk to the planet. Mining crypto – the process of verifying transactions and generating new coins – uses vast amounts of electricity and creates the same amount of CO2 each year as a small country.
Directly contributing to climate change, it’s ecological impact is so serious that President…
