A man who was conned out of £150,000 by a woman who he thought he was in a relationship with has spoken of his ordeal in the hope other people will not become innocent victims.
Tom, who is in his 30s and using a pseudonym to protect his real identity, was the victim of an elaborate cryptocurrency scam that started through a dating app and conned him out of his life savings.
He met a woman online who encouraged him to trade Bitcoin which initially returned a profit, manipulating Tom into believing the scam was legitimate and worth further investment.
However, after being unable to withdraw £1,000, he was ‘bullied into’ investing the remaining amount of his Bitcoin currency (BTC) before his balance was cleared and ‘there was no money remaining’.
After losing around £150,000, Tom sought advice from his mother, other family members and friends before reporting his experience to police and Action Fraud.
Tom’s experience prompted police to warn people about a sharp rise in online fraud involving victims being tricked into thinking they are in a romantic relationship when they are really being conned out of money.
Avon and Somerset Police said 20 to 30 ‘romance frauds’ are reported to them every month and in the 12 months up to last October a total of £2.4million was stolen.
Tom, who is in his 30s and using a pseudonym to protect his real identity, was the victim of an elaborate cryptocurrency scam that started through a dating app and conned him out of his life savings (stock image)
Tom, from Weston-super-Mare said he was struggling with a break-up in 2020 when he decided to join a dating site with females from outside of the UK, and was approached by Jia, who said she was in her late-20s and lived in Hong Kong.
Before long, she requested the conversation move from the dating website onto WhatsApp.
On one occasion they used FaceTime, which was initiated by Jia, but Tom said: ‘It was very weird. She only showed part of her face. I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn’t talk back.’
Tom had few pictures of her, although he did ask for more. He said: ‘Issues were flagging up to me, but everything she was doing to build up trust with me was enough to keep me there.’
Police said Jia wasted no time in introducing her hidden agenda when, on the second day of speaking to Tom, she asked if he knew anything about cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC).
Tom said he had invested in it a few years ago but thought little of her mentioning it as it was ‘secure and she was miles away’.
But Jia kept showing Tom screenshots of how much money she was making and sending pictures of her business and Porsche that she apparently owned.
When she encouraged him to invest too, Tom declined.
Communication between the two was not always about money, police said, but Jia often made it clear she was a successful investor with plenty of money and her own business.
They would discuss their personal lives and quite soon after meeting online, she told Tom she loved him.
After trying unsuccessfully to get Tom to trade Bitcoin, Jia called Tom naïve for being cautious, which he admits ‘riled’ him.
The victim met a woman online who encouraged him to trade Bitcoin which initially returned a profit, manipulating him into believing the scam was legitimate and worth further investment (stock image)
Afterwards, Tom was directed to an online trading platform and was instructed by Jia to download the app to his phone.
He was immediately suspicious due to some of the website’s functionalities not working.
Despite his concerns, he was reassured by Jia, and was pestered into investing a small amount of Bitcoin in order to prove the website’s legitimacy; 0.1 BTC (worth approximately £1,165.00 at the time) was transferred to a wallet address and converted to US Dollars.
Initially, Jia advised him to trade in a crypto token called FWD. A subsequent search into the token showed it was likely fabricated for the purposes of fraud.
Jia guided Tom through all trading, advising him when to make and close a trade, police said.
Still sceptical, Tom said he needed to build his confidence with the website and again prove its legitimacy by withdrawing money.
He explained: ‘It convinced me that even though I had doubts about the trading platform, maybe it is legit because it wasn’t holding onto my money, it was giving it back.’
After making a profit on his first trade and successfully withdrawing it as expected, Tom decided to increase the amount invested.
He doubled it to 0.2 BTC, making the conversion using the same method as before. Again, more profit was made and the next investment was 0.5 BTC.
‘It was a very gradual process,’ he said.
Tom, remaining cautious, tried to withdraw £1,000 without telling Jia, but it didn’t work.
Jia told him it can take time, and sent him the £1,000 to keep the illusion of it being a real investment alive. She reminded him they were going to build a ‘wealthy lifestyle together’.
‘I felt lucky,’ Tom said, ‘as I seemed to have met someone with insider information.
‘Making money every single time isn’t really possible unless you have inside knowledge.’
Jia had managed to reassure Tom by telling him her aunt was a knowledgeable investor and was supplying the information.
‘She portrayed herself as a successful investor with inside knowledge,’ Tom said.
‘She spoke about the future, moving to the UK, and how we could build this wealthy lifestyle together.’
Although he was making money in what he believed to be a legitimate investment opportunity, Tom decided to keep some money back.
But Jia told him there was a ‘rare opportunity’ to make increased profits, which he would need to invest quickly or he would miss out.
Police said Tom was bullied into investing the remaining amount of his BTC, only for his investment to be wiped out.
Tom said: ‘My balance had been cleared, there was no money remaining.
‘In the blink of an eye, everything was gone. I was sick to my stomach.
‘I‘ve worked and saved hard so that I could be financially set for life.
‘It’s like holding a winning lottery ticket in your hand and the wind taking it away. It’s ruined me.’
He messaged Jia, who claimed to have lost more than $1million herself, before she told him: ‘Honey, don’t put too much pressure on yourself every day. I will always be by your side. I love you.’
In a state of desperation, Tom followed Jia’s advice again and used the rest of the money he could get his hands on – £3,000 – into Bitcoin and again invested it through the online platform.
It again was wiped out before Jia refused to help, saying she had to ‘fly to Australia to tend to her sick aunt’.
Tom said he was ‘significantly affected’ – both physically and mentally – by what had happened.
‘I recognised I needed help straight away and went straight round to see my mum’, he said.
‘If I didn’t have that support, I wouldn’t be here. I was going to do something that wouldn’t leave me here anymore.
‘I am not someone who is able to hide things – I can’t just put a brave face on. It’s always helped me to talk.’
After being unable to withdraw £1,000, the victim was ‘bullied into’ investing the remaining amount of his Bitcoin currency (BTC) before his balance was cleared and ‘there was no money remaining (stock image)
As well as support from family and friends, Tom sought advice from occupational health at work, who encouraged him to report what happened to police and Action Fraud.
Tom said: ‘To at least know that it was being looked at was a lot more than I expected to come from this report.’
Enquiries were carried out by Avon and Somerset’s cyber team and he also spoke to the Cyber Helpline, the Crisis Team, Victim Support, Samaritans, and MIND.
Tom said he still thinks about what happened when he lies in bed at night, and still has particularly bad days.
Tom said: ‘I wasn’t in a good place. The break-up left me feeling flat. I was unhappy and just generally sad.
‘It really messed me up, to the point where it clearly impaired my judgement so much, that I’ve allowed this person to manipulate me into doing something which I would have never ordinarily done.
‘I don’t trust women. I feel like I can be manipulated by women now to my detriment. I’ve lost all my confidence. I’ve lost who I am.
Tom continues to receive support from a counsellor.
Figures released by the Avon and Somerset Police show not just elderly people are targeted by ‘romance fraud’ and a pretty much even gender split of 47 to 40 women to men, with 13 per cent of cases not registering a gender for the victim.
The figures also show that victims in the Avon and Somerset area in the past year have included everyone from teenagers to people in their 90s.
The most common age for a victim of romance fraud in Avon and Somerset is between 40 and 60, but just as many people in their 20s and 30s are falling victim to the con as pensioners.
Police say many victims of this kind of con – which they call romance fraud – may never come forward to report it, seek help or get support, not only for the financial aspects, but the emotional trauma of thinking they are in a relationship with someone, albeit one online, only to find they have been betrayed and lost money.
Drew Jefferies, a Cyber Protect officer, said Tom’s story was devastating.
‘When Tom first came to us with the report, I was naturally devastated for him,’ he said.
‘I was really moved by his story and how it not only affected him financially, but also in every other aspect of his life.
‘He dealt with the situation exceptionally well and I admire his bravery in speaking out. A huge thank you to Tom for looking to help us create awareness and stop others from falling into the same trap.’
Amy Horrobin, a fraud protect officer at Avon and Somerset police, added: ‘In terms of investments, it can be really difficult to tell a genuine investment opportunity apart from a fraudulent one – even experienced investors have been caught out.
‘Fraudsters use various tactics to make the investment appear to be genuine such as sending some small returns, creating fraudulent websites, and hiding behind the names of genuine companies. Do your research and seek independent financial advice before committing to any investment.
Tom said he wanted to share his story to warn others.
‘Whenever something bad has happened in my life which I’ve learned from, I’ve always wanted to prevent others from having the same experience.
‘I like knowing that I can stop people from being in the same position. I find comfort in being able to help others.’
Red flags and tips to avoid being a victim
