Crypto mistake

cbr600dave

So after following a fellow Carpenter on TikTok, he messaged to say thanks for the follow and we chatted all things trade.

He then went on to side hussles and mentioned crypto, told him I dabbled few years back and not a lot came of it.

He suggested a trading platform called Coastal Trading Luxe.

He talked me through how and what to do, I told him I dont have much free cash and he said as little as £100 would do.

I signed up and then he said if I wanted a decent return I should put £1000 in, I had this sitting around to go towards a new van.

Put it in, did 1st trade and 5 days later £1000 was £14k,

I was stunned.

Then the fees came.

DDude to being above my account limit i had to pay £2600 to upgrade, they said I could withdraw after.

2 weeks later I had the money so paid, in the mean time they held my funds in a staking account which had accumulated profit and went up to £46k, I immediately tried a withdrawal which was stopped due to my crypto wallet being a security risk, odd seeing as it was the same one I paid them with.

They suggested straight to bank account, gave them my details and they said 1-3 days.

2days later they hit me with a £6700 charge for a tax clearance certificate, saying IRS in US has to have one completed for anti money laundering.

Borrowed money and paid it, hit me with vat on the sum, paid that.

Got stamped copy of certificate, looked all legitimate.

Told portal agent will guide me through withdrawal process and said a new wallet would need to be down loaded, On chain was downloaded and he talked me through the settings , telling me to copy and paste a http code to the node section.

Did so as I had been told I would get funds within the hour.

He then transfers £160k and says while all the delays where happening i had accrued bonus and more funds.

He then quickly stays 4 times i must not share or show the wallet to any 3rd parties or try to withdraw.

Then says to get my funs from wallet to bank I must do a custodial verification which after asking a few times how and him repeating not to share wallet or withdraw, he sends a pdf document of a contract and an invoice for $30k, I told him no chance as I had already gone into debt for almost £16k, he repeated a few times not to show anyone and that was that.

As On chain is owned by crypto com, I contacted them and they confirmed the trip code is a way of showing fake money in a wallet, they confirmed it looks like I had been conned.

I have been in touch with report fraud, Fca, IRS in the IS and Fbi's IC3 and reported it all.

The platform says i have 10 days to pay or get a 10% increase for late payment.

The tiktok carpenter had confirmed all along the process it was all normal and insists I pay.

Neither him or the platform had told me about any fees or charges and if I had known from the start I would never had put money in.

I told the platform I could find no information on the website of any fees, charges or any thing to do with what money would be needed to be paid and when.

Really not sure what to do now.

Please be careful if your thinking of trying online trading.

noitsnotme

100% scam unfortunately. I didn't have to read any further than "I signed up and then he said if I wanted a decent return I should put £1000 in" to realise it was a scam.

Your money is gone. DO NOT give them any more money. And beware of people contacting you soon promising they can get your money back - it's all part of the scam.

jaybeetoo

Your fellow Carpenter on TikTok was probably no such thing. That person has been patiently grooming you.

Listen to the BBC podcast series Scam Secrets.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002h2gt

Aylesbury_Duck

The maths is all out here. £1,000 plus £2,600 plus £6,700 plus the VAT on the £6,700 does not add up to £16,000.

Whatever money that was sunk into this (if it ever was), it is long gone.

powerspowers

Yes I agree, complete scam to gain your trust and get you to send money over, it was never invested anywhere.

Do not pay any more fees, do not listen to whatever line the fraudster peddles next and be vigilant as they will pass your details on to other fraudsters.

You might have recourse from where you borrowed the money, or from your bank. Action fraud don’t do anything to help get it back. It’s an expensive mistake to learn.

Other posters, please be supportive or silent. It’s easy to fall prey to these things, they take advantage of people who are just looking for a lucky break, and know exactly what to do to reel you in.

powerspowers

maybe it is! There’s plenty of real stories though that play out exactly like this, so let it stand as a warning, and/or the poster is genuine and needs support not judgement

cbr600dave

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82028861#Comment_82028861

I did not include the signal fees and other monies as I didnt want the post to rattle on,

I realise I have been conned, and was told to join this place as some may have decent advice as to where to go.

Also I didn't want anyone to fall for what I have.

cbr600dave

Thank you

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82028980#Comment_82028980

100% true unfortunately

Aylesbury_Duck

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82029018#Comment_82029018

Then the overriding and immediate advice is to cease all engagement with the carpenter and any of the people associated with the scam. Do not send them any more money under any circumstances. Any engagement, even just correspondence, will only encourage them.

Beyond that, speak to any of your banks involved to see what help they can provide, if any.

MeteredOut

Also, you'll now be on a list of victims that get sold to other scammers - be very wary of anyone who now contacts you out of the blue.

cbr600dave

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82029036#Comment_82029036

Thankyou, I have stopped all contact with the carpenter and trading platform, I have notified Bank, FCA, who told me to contact IRS and FBI's IC3 department the platform sent me a Tax Clearance Certificate which apparently was from IRS.

I am currently putting all correspondence and evidence in files to email to FCA after they requested it.