As we progress and make our lives better with the use of technological breakthroughs, it can be experienced in our everyday lives. The very fact that paper currency and coins will become history with the introduction and usage of cryptocurrency is quite evident.
Unlike aristocrats, who have profound knowledge of wealth management, their secrets are well guarded, and only a few know about them.
Due to its sheer secrecy, it is no wonder that we are not taught about it in our formative years, and we end up mismanaging our wealth when we begin earning money. Thus, we lack the necessary skills and knowledge to manage our funds. As a result, it is not surprising that we end up making financial blunders and falling for online crypto scams.
And this is what scammers take advantage of. Scammers fully know that picking off desperate people can make them easy victims.
There are several methods that scammers employ to lure their victims into scams, and one such method is through
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… Romance Scam
Love is a potent emotion that can make or break a person. Everybody wants to love and be loved. It is one of those emotions that makes many do crazy stuff that others say, “How could they fall for it?”
It is an age-old, tried-and-tested method to entice the victim into total submission, and even with all the advancements and pitfalls that we endure as we advance into the future, romance scams are here to stay.
Tom Davis (name changed), a municipal plumber from Chicago, has always been bright, despite his younger age. Having a keen eye for details, he was always one step ahead.
Before the lockdown, he had managed to crack some good deals and was always successful. He took pride in the fact that he was so smart that no one could scam him. But the truth was very different from reality.
It was June, and he was about to ask his childhood sweetheart, Shelly, to marry him. However, due to some differences, she turned him down. The event literally shook him.
He was never rejected, and the pride of being self-assured shattered him with the rejection.
The honey trap
Dejected, he started to think that because he was so successful and smart, he could always find someone else. So he reluctantly downloaded dating apps and created a profile. He received a message shortly thereafter. It would be his biggest mistake.
He got a request from Jing Cao, a Chinese descendant and businesswoman who was attractive and highly successful at such a young age. He thought that it was a nice start.
Although Tom was aware of online scams, he was quite sure that if he sniffed out anything out of the ordinary, he would take steps instead of falling for it.
Our experts like to point out that Tom made a huge mistake; he should have reverse-searched the image of the woman. Scammers are known to use photos of ordinary people from their social media platforms as their profile photos to lure in their victims.
They immediately hit it off, and Tom thought that this was destiny and that he would get married to Jing if things looked bright. They did share some common interests.
Scammers are known to stalk their potential victims through social media platforms. Many have the habit of posting their successes on social media platforms for everyone to view. Thus, they become an easy target for such online scams.
Mistakes of Tom
Their relationship was just a few weeks old when Jing requested to move their conversation somewhere private, like messaging apps. Tom was under the impression that this was a sign that they should take their relationship to the next level.
Dating platforms do know the danger of scammers scamming many through their dating apps. They ensure the safety of their users and can protect them if any fraudulent captivity has been carried out on their app. It is for this sole reason that many scammers are quick to shift their conversation from a dating app to other messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, and so forth.
Both of them exchanged their numbers, and now they are talking more romantically than they had previously thought.
Tom quickly found out that Jing had a serious issue when it came to written English. However, he did not pay enough attention to it, thinking that many use broken English to complete the sentence. For him, the thought conveyed was more important than these silly mistakes. But still, he thought that a successful businesswoman would be this lazy.
Most scammers do not have English as their first language, and it can be quite evident from the fact that their written and spoken English are not strong. They tend to make several glaring mistakes that are hard to overlook.
Feeding the “Pig” begins…
Jing had a habit of digging a lot, asking frequent questions regarding his success, and always complimenting. Such compliments only made Tom complacent. He truly started to believe that she was the one.
Then she asked him if he was willing to marry her, as she liked him a lot. Tom was exceeded and said yes; however, there was a problem: she comes from a traditional Chinese family, and they expect him should be a billionaire, and if he wanted, she could share in the family secrets to make him a billionaire.
Scammers are known to shower fake compliments on their potential victims and make them feel at ease. They will use all the tricks in the book to create the impression that they are interested in their victims.
Without thinking, he said yes.
There were many occasions when he called her and enjoyed video chats. When the reception was poor, she blamed it on the fact that she was on a business trip. She said that her uncle invested in cryptos and he should pay attention to them; she shared his number.
Her uncle, Wang Lee, directed Tom to a specific crypto exchange and asked him to download specific software.
After downloading, he invested $60,000 from all the savings that he had made over the years as a municipal plumber.
Wang Lee promised that within a few months, he would make huge profits and become a billionaire.
A few weeks later, when the software showed that his Bitcoins were making huge profits, Wang requested that Tom invest more so that he could still make a huge profit. He suggested that he should forego his retirement money and invest it in these cryptos.
Although Tom was reluctant to do so, he did.
The relationship was just a few months old, and Jing was sharing her wedding plans with him with such a rosy picture that he expressed his thoughts about meeting her and requested to provide her address.
The final cut
The relationship was only six months old, and Tom was applying for $50,000 as a personal loan from his bank.
Through their conversation, Jing gave her address in San Francisco and agreed to meet on a certain date. However, when he arrived in San Francisco, she refused to meet him as she had an urgent business meeting. Having now traveled to Texas, he asked her if he could come down and meet her there, but she made some silly excuses.
Fearing that he had been a victim of the scam, he quickly tried to check his cryptos on the exchange, but he was denied any access.
Tom comes to his senses.
Tom was angry at the way he was made into a joke. He was furious with himself; however, he was quick to think and started to browse for options on his flight back home.
In his research, he found that several online crypto recovery firms specialize in the recovery of stolen cryptos.
He immediately sought their help.
Way to recovery
It has been nine months since Tom sought out the services of a crypto recovery firm and managed to recover 80% of his wealth invested in cryptos. Although Tom did not find the love that he was seeking, he did learn that he needed to be careful with his finances and avoid sharing his details.
Final Thoughts
You need to be careful with whom you share your secrets, especially with those you meet online.
No matter how smart you think you are, you should always try to use caution when you meet someone online. It would be in your best interest if you were to scrutinize the person you meet online.
Author Bio
Author name, who has acquired a Masters in Business administration and finance writes informative content around financial scams and ways to prevent them. Working in collaboration with Morgan Financial Recovery, the author aims at enhancing the awareness among online traders, investors, and other users. With years of expertise in how frauds roll out, the author helps people identify warning signs and indicators.
