Vulnerable Scots are believed to be losing millions of pounds a year to cryptocurrency scammers.
Watchdogs have recorded more than £756,000 being lost online to international gangs in the past six months alone.
That is believed to be the tip of the iceberg, as many victims choose not to report the crime.
Disabled John Ogilvie, 63, invested $1000 (£820) with a scam firm, which cruelly led him on by saying his investment had gone through the roof, to more than $100,000 (£82,000).
When he tried to cash in his money, he fell victim to a secondary scam – a tactic often used by the vultures, who claim they can hunt down the thieves and get payouts for desperate victims, who don’t want to believe the difficult truth.
John, from Gorgie, Edinburgh, said: “I’ve been finding money tight of late and I feel a bit stupid but I got lured in by a really slick fake company and the promise of guaranteed profits. I put in £250 and they said I could make £100 a day from that and I just got seduced by all the rubbish they were talking.
“They told me I had made $3000 – they liked to talk in dollars. They said that the more I invested, the more profit I would get – and the next thing I knew I was putting in $1000.”
After John deposited that cash, the scammers started playing out an even more elaborate deception, with John supposedly being assigned a personal case manager.
He said: “I was getting updates and the cash was going up every day. Soon it was up to $10,000 then after a few weeks it was $20,000 then $80,000.
“It supposedly got up to $116,000 and I wanted to cash it in, so I phoned the number and was put through to someone who supposedly worked in customer services in Germany. They said a manager would phone me back in seven to 14 days.
“After 20 days I phoned them and said I wanted my cash. Then the number stopped working.”
John was then targeted by the same people, who contacted him again but pretended to be from a separate company, offering to retrieve the debt.
They told him they could see the $116,000 in his account – but warned him the initial scammers would take it within 48 hours if he didn’t pay another fee.
He ended up paying a third firm – which he found on the internet – another £820 to chase the pie-in-the-sky profits, which was more cash down the drain.
He said: “The next company were happy to string me along a bit too, as I now realise there was no money for them to chase and they took my fee in any case just to join the party. I feel stupid but I want to warn anyone else considering a get rich quick scheme to think again.
“These people are cruel and remorseless and they have all the answers when you start to doubt the processes. They should be in jail.”
Advice Direct Scotland, which runs consumeradvice.scot, warned Scots to be on the lookout for scams. The charity’s spokesman Colin Mathieson said: “Unfortunately, we are aware of Scots losing more than £750,000 to fake cryptocurrency and investment offers in the last five months.
“It’s a hugely under-reported issue, so these figures are likely to just be the tip of the iceberg. Scammers will use a variety of methods to try to gain personal information, bank details or money.
“People should remain vigilant and pause before interacting with emails, text messages or social media adverts. People should not feel pressurised or rushed into a purchase as this can be a clear sign of scam.
“Never pay to recover any money as this is likely to be part of a larger fraud. The most effective way to stop scammers in their tracks is to report a scam to scamwatch.scot when you see one.
“Remember, there is no shame in being scammed and consumers who are concerned or need help should contact one of our specialist advisers for free, impartial and practical advice on 0808 164 6000 or www.consumeradvice.scot.”
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