Toronto lady claims that bitcoin scam cost her $340,000

A woman from Toronto allegedly lost $340,000 in a cryptocurrency scam. Her cautionary message to others is to be vigilant and avoid falling for the same scam.

Natalya, who didn’t want to use her full name, said she saw a video last year on YouTube about making money by investing in cryptocurrencies. She felt embarrassed about it.

Natalya said to put money into cryptocurrency because it’s the best way to become wealthy.

She sent a message to the company on their website and then they called her. They talked her into investing $250 and when she saw the money increase, she put in more.

Natalya said, “I believed him and sent him $100,000. ”

The bad person sent her $5,000 and told her to act like she was rich and buy herself expensive diamond earrings. After she did that, she thought the company must be real, so she put another $240,000 into it.

“Watching my money increase made me really happy. I thought, ‘This is a really good way to make money quickly. ‘” Natalya explained

It seemed like she had twice as much money. But when she tried to withdraw it, she couldn’t. That’s when she found out it was fake and she was cheated out of all the money she had invested, which was $340,000.

Natalya said she felt embarrassed to admit that she was tricked into losing a lot of money.

In 2023, Canadian people lost $309 million to investment scams, as reported by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Jason Tschetter started Fraud Hunters Canada after he was tricked out of $81,000 in a cryptocurrency scam.

“We have clients who have lost either $700,000 or $7,000. ” “It depends on what they can receive from people,” said Tschetter.

Tschetter said there aren’t many places for people to get help if they are scammed with cryptocurrency.

Next month, Fraud Hunters Canada will change their name to Cyber Crime Victim Service. They will help people who have been victims of cyber fraud.

“They are going through tough times, such as trying to hurt themselves, having no money, and getting divorced. It’s really hard for many people who contact us,” Tschetter said.

Natalya said she lost a lot of money, $340,000, and it made her feel really bad. She wants to tell her story so that other people can be careful and not lose money too.

“Natalya said she is really sad about this and doesn’t want it to happen to other people. ”

Some people who have been scammed with cryptocurrency are tricked again when criminals call them and promise to return their money. They ask for money at the beginning, promising to get back the lost money, but it’s a lie.