Crypto scams are on the rise – but one story has a happy ending

Simon Hoadley lost the equivalent of $100,000 from his life savings to a cryptocurrency scam. These scams are on the rise in England, but in the end his story has a happy ending. Hadley doneAlmost all money back.

A 66-year-old retired financial advisor was contacted by an investment firm, who encouraged him to invest some of his life savings in cryptocurrencies. He was struggling financially and thought this would improve his financial situation. Initially, the investment seemed profitable, but suddenly everything turned negative and he lost contact with his “advisor”.

The bank recommended criminal charges

Eventually, Hadley realized he had been defrauded of more than $100,000. His local bank advised him to report the whole story to the police as they would have to be involved in a rescue operation. He also told his family about this fraud.

Legal experts eventually helped him recover more than $95,000 of his initial losses. He bought an RV near the assisted living complex where his wife lives.

Crypto scams are vastly underreported

Data from TRM Laboratories programIn 2019, 3,244 people registered fraud cases. Their total loss was about 70 million dollars. Cases nearly tripled to 9,427 in 2021. The losses incurred were more than three times higher and amounted to USD 245 million.

DRM Labs expects this trend to continue in 2022. Data for the past year is not complete, but losses from January to August 2022 alone have already exceeded $205 million. For the full year, they are expected to be around $310 million.

Investment scams like the one Hoadley fell victim to are the most common type of fraud in the UK and US. “Investment companies” contact people and ask them to make cryptocurrency deposits.

Other common scams include dating site scams and trainware. In the latter scam, cyber criminals take control of a crypto wallet using a hidden code and steal the coins inside.