Crypto dating scam help

Martico

Have all their interactions been text-based? An absence of video calls that offer some true personal insight might be a red flag he'd pay attention to

gravel_2

markjamesallen said:

His lucrative trade last night was with Tether, 16k profit on a buy between 19:05 and 19:10 uk time, I have checked the chart and it moved 6 pips 1.00034 to 1.00040. His account balance prior to the trade was about 24k. Is there enough balance to make this trade possible at say 4k a point, as I doubt you’d capture the whole 6 point move and any spread the platform charges? I spread bet myself but only indices through city index and have no idea how the crypto trading works or what the margins are. Thank you

Just to be clear, Tether is a stablecoin pegged to the dollar. If it's working correctly it should always float around a value of $1 without material deviation. It is not a crypto that enables material gains. If you zoom out on the price chart you will see that, with a few exceptional moments, it has fairly successfully held its peg.

flaneurs_lobster said:

gravel_2 said:

Almost certainly a scam

Fixed that for you.

You never know...

markjamesallen

Martico said:

Have all their interactions been text-based? An absence of video calls that offer some true personal insight might be a red flag he'd pay attention to

Their interactions have been video and text based.

refluxer

markjamesallen said:

Martico said:

Have all their interactions been text-based? An absence of video calls that offer some true personal insight might be a red flag he'd pay attention to

Their interactions have been video and text based.

The scammers either have women among their ranks, or they employ actors to work for them when video calls are needed so, unfortunately, even something like a video call doesn't prove the relationship is genuine or that the other person has honest intentions. Romance scams have gotten very sophisticated over the years and scammers will put a lot of effort (over many months if necessary) in order to get money from their victims. There are even manuals and books written on the subject which scammers can use in an effort to charm their victims and then pry into their finances.

If you want to talk your friend out of this, then I would definitely show him this video about what he's getting into. It's from Jim Browning - a respected, british YouTuber (also features on the BBC's 'Scam Interceptors' program) who exposes scammers. This video shows how these scammers make contact with their victims, the women they employ to do the video calls and it even shows an example of the finance scam itself (usually involving cryptocurrency) where the scammer will manipulate what the victim is seeing in order that they believe they're making money. Sounds very similar to your friend's situation.

This BBC documentary on the subject would also be worth watching.

If he's been emotionally invested in this 'relationship' for a few months, these videos are probably going to be a difficult watch but, like you, I wouldn't be happy just letting this go unless I'd tried everything in my power to stop it. Victims can lose tens - even hundreds - of thousands of pounds (their life savings) to these scammers.

threlkeld53

I read your post.
On the first line, by the time I got to Europe & the full stop, I thought to myself '100% scam'.

artyboy

threlkeld53 said:

I read your post.
On the first line, by the time I got to Europe & the full stop, I thought to myself '100% scam'.

I think everyone on this thread is clear on this, the OP included. The matter at hand now is how best to deprogram someone that is in the equivalent of a cult...

Ciprico

Would the browser window be lacking the SSL security key symbol...if hes technical that may raise his suspicions that he's not on the genuine website...

Reaper

Since he is supposedly well up I would suggest withdrawing the "profits" and see if the funds arrive in his bank account (not the lady's). I would be very surprised if they do! However be a bit wary. If they want lots of personal and financial details before they allow the withdrawal then abort. Also beware of requests for fees before the withdrawal can go through.

Aidanmc

Maybe the Asian lady is being scammed herself and doesn't realise it yet?

But why would she get her new friend to open accounts and then fund it with her own money supposedly.

She must trust him not to withdraw the funds for himself.

All sounds a bit strange.

refluxer

Aidanmc said:

Maybe the Asian lady is being scammed herself and doesn't realise it yet?

But why would she get her new friend to open accounts and then fund it with her own money supposedly.

She must trust him not to withdraw the funds for himself.

All sounds a bit strange.

The Asian lady is part of the scam and the account will be fake, so there is no real money involved yet - it's all part of the illusion that is designed to ultimately make the victim part with their own, real money.

If you watch the Jim Browning video I linked to above, you'll see exactly how the scam works.