Woman loses $73,000 in Crypto Investment Fraud -Scammer plays Book of Friendship

[Flexystar]

The news related to scams are never ending and sorry but they are always laughable incidences. I can't digest what happened to the victimized woman but I just laugh at it. This is not the first time someone got scammed with the "Book of Friendship" role play.

So this news is from an Arabian country, Shrajha, and the woman in the news lost over a million Dirham. That's sad to hear but what is sad is that she lost it in greed and with the unknown person who mates here online via WhatsApp.

Seriously guys, how can one believe a stranger who just texted you randomly, calling it a sweet accident, telling some sweet stories with you, and luring you into the world of scams!!

What's funny is, she is a 51-year-old woman with all kinds of experiences she might have had in her lifetime.

This guy contacted her from Hong Kong. Made up some stories, and shown her proof of investment and how he is earning millions of dollars. One day he sends her a fraud email which she believed is part of the process and sends away $73,000 in a single click.

The other day, everything vanishes. Her virtual friend is gone, that website vanishes and nothing is traceable. That kind of stupidity is there in the world.

An Arab businesswoman in Sharjah is reeling from the aftermath of a crypto scam that swindled her out of over a million dirhams.

The loss was even more devastating for Sara (name changed), a 51-year-old confectionery business owner and mother of six, as she had saved the money for her son’s wedding and to buy a house.

Sara recounted her traumatic experience with Khaleej Times, saying that it all began in mid-2022 with a seemingly innocuous WhatsApp message that read, “Hello, is this Mr John? My assistant recommended you to me. Are you still selling beauty equipment? I’d like to buy a batch of equipment from you.”

Sara quickly texted back to clarify that she was not the intended recipient of the message. The person on the other end responded by asking, "So what can I call you dear?" Sara gave her name. Much to her surprise, she received a friendly message in return that read, "Nice to meet you. I hope this is a beautiful accident. I am Coco from Hong Kong. Where are you from?"

The brief exchange quickly escalated into friendly conversations about their work and family. Coco said that she was divorced and had a flourishing skincare business in Hong Kong and London. Sara was impressed and the two began chatting regularly.

Not long after striking a friendship, Coco began telling Sara about her aunt who was supposedly helping her make money through cryptocurrency trading.

Despite her initial scepticism, Sara became interested when Coco told her that she could be operating her own account.

In October 2022, Sara made an investment of $12,000 in the crypto trading platform recommended by Coco. Initially, Sara saw some returns, but Coco kept pushing her to invest more and more money to maximise her profits.

By March 2023, Sara had forked out around $200,000 (Dh734,000) including Dh100,000 borrowed from her 26-year-old daughter.

Investigations have since revealed that the crypto trading platform was fake. It was designed to simulate trade activity and mislead investors into believing they were making huge returns.

Pipe dreams
Sara was thrilled when the platform showed that investments had swelled to $400,000.

“I was excited and started planning about all the wonderful things we would do with the money.”

Sara said when she tried to withdraw the money, she got an email asking for $73,000 in taxes. “Coco assured me that this was standard practice so I wired the money.”

However, a few days later, the website disappeared and Coco stopped responding.

Sara was a victim of a long-term fraud scheme.

Scammers involved in the racket initiate contact through social media, dating apps, WhatsApp, or text messages, often by pretending to have made a mistake. They persist in striking up a conversation even after being informed they've reached the wrong person. Over several months, scammers build trust with their victims and then encourage them to invest in cryptocurrency trading, offering insider tips or investor knowledge. They direct victims to download an app or visit a website and sometimes offer to trade alongside them. Unknown to the victims, the platform is controlled by scammers.

“My total loss exceeds one million dirhams,” said Sara who has since filed a police complaint.

“I have only myself to blame. I regret not making an attempt to talk to Coco verbally. We just exchanged text messages I thought she was a friend and genuinely wanted to help me make money.”

Sara reached out to Khaleej Times last week after discovering a report about a similar scam in the newspaper, regretting not reading it earlier. A previous report from January this year featured the story of an ex-IT director in Dubai who lost Dh650,000 in a crypto-romance scam after receiving messages from a fraudster who also identified herself as Coco. Last year, Khaleej Times reported how an Ajman resident lost $47,000 to a similar scam.

Dad-of-five Sajjad Khan, 40, was sweet-talked into investing the money in a dodgy crypto trading platform by a ‘woman’ he met on a popular dating app but never in real life.

Law authorities in the UAE has repeatedly urged the public to remain vigilant when using social media.

Huge costs
Cybercrime is expected to cost the world $10,5 trillion annually, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, the world’s leading researcher and publisher covering the global cyber economy.

BIlionaire businessman and philanthropist Warren Buffet calls it the number one problem with mankind and cyberattacks are a bigger threat to humanity than nuclear weapons.

The scammer’s playbook
Initiate contact with the target by sending a “wrong number” text message or through a dating app.
Build a relationship through friendly, romantic messages over several months
Encourage the target to invest money in a crypto trading platform
Gain trust by letting the person withdraw small amount as supposed profit.
Seek bigger investment.
Disable the website and disappear with the money

Sharjah mum of six loses over million dirhams to crypto scam after being befriended by cybercriminal on WhatsApp

[electronicash]

Coco is such a sneaky sweet guy and is now richer after disappearing. i think old women are prone to scams since they are the loneliest person when their kids are already grown and they have none to talk to. and having a new friend would give them something to do.

i wouldn't really blame the greed, everyone wants to make more money for their kids. the prob is just that she also entrusted her money to someone she had not met.

[SOKO-DEKE]

Nowadays, scammers are rife in social media, and everyone needs to be very vigilant to avoid being a victim because they constantly devise new methods.However, greedy people tend to be the most susceptible to scams. I do wonder why someone would believe someone online and give them money, particularly if they introduced them to high-profit ventures.

As for me, I seldom ever respond to odd messages from any social networking platform, especially if I see that you're trying to introduce me to a business. Instead, I just block them.
 

[coupable]

Of course, it is unfortunate that many are still falling victim to machinations that may seem to most of us absurd and similar to "hidden camera" pranks in entertainment programs. What caught my attention in this story is that how can a businesswoman who owns that large sum, which must be part of a larger savings since it was earmarked, according to her narration, for the marriage of one of her six children and the purchase of a house, find time to enter into an intimate chat with an unknown person on WhatsApp ? Do businesswomen really have the time to consolidate relationships in this way, especially since she has six children despite her relatively young age (six children at the age of 51, this is amazing) in addition to businesses (you can imagine the volume of businesses that are able to produce that number just to be used for savings.
I think that the details of the story seem somewhat unrealistic, but I do not deny the possibility of it occurring with the majority of us, but I rule out that businessmen and women are potential victims.

[NotATether]

With any website, you must test it only with 2-digit and 3-digit sums initially, if you are that convinced to try the service (whether it may be legit or scam).

Then, if you still trust the service (and you can afford it), try with for example $1000. If your net worth is way more than $1000 then this bogey amount will serve to fool the scammers to make them think you are seriously depositing money in their service (and no longer "testing" it). This should show their true colors at this point, and a service that is genuine should process that amount normally. A scamming service will steal it, but you would've saved yourself from risking outrageous sums of your money.

Another tactic you can try is simply waiting a few months before making another deposit. If the service is not some quick-and-dirty scamming scheme, then it should still operate normally after all that time, without the operator harassing you to use the service in the meanwhile.

[Flexystar]

Coco is such a sneaky sweet guy and is now richer after disappearing. i think old women are prone to scams since they are the loneliest person when their kids are already grown and they have none to talk to. and having a new friend would give them something to do.

i wouldn't really blame the greed, everyone wants to make more money for their kids. the prob is just that she also entrusted her money to someone she had not met.

That’s the point mate. If you are grown then you should be able to think twice before proceeding with something like that. How can she trust someone that is also not from here country and contacting with accidental message. I can’t even digest that thought. If I ever get any text or social media notification like that, then dude it’s deleted without any second thoughts to it. L

People like these are making crypto look really bad and insecure. I’m so frustrated to read such news again and again every week. There is someone ending their life, there is CEO running away with peoples money, there are banks getting bankrupt and what not.

Media literally use such incidences to showcase how bad crypto is. I just hope this image changes with the time.

[Cookdata]

The primary reason people fall victim to scammers is their lack of knowledge or understanding about a particular thing. This can happen to anyone including you OP, but it can be prevented by educating yourself about areas where you are lacking knowledge. For example, the woman may have heard about Bitcoin and the transformative power of cryptocurrency, but her lack of understanding led her to fall for a scam perpetrated by someone from a developing country. This experience may leave a lasting negative impression, and she may be hesitant to invest in crypto in the future. However, the reality is that if she had invested in good coins with that amount, she could have potentially made a significant profit when bull runs comes.

[SatoPrincess]

With any website, you must test it only with 2-digit and 3-digit sums initially, if you are that convinced to try the service (whether it may be legit or scam).

Then, if you still trust the service (and you can afford it), try with for example $1000. If your net worth is way more than $1000 then this bogey amount will serve to fool the scammers to make them think you are seriously depositing money in their service (and no longer "testing" it). This should show their true colors at this point, and a service that is genuine should process that amount normally. A scamming service will steal it, but you would've saved yourself from risking outrageous sums of your money.

I don’t think this tactic may work so well because during the course of their many conversations, the scammer may already know her current and previous jobs, and net worth. Getting this information in the early stages of talking is part of their strategy, so they know the victim’s financial capacity. In this case, the lady claimed to have tested the service with $12,000 and got her returns, I think her friend Coco knew she had more money that’s why they kept the scam going. Some scams can be long term, these ones build trust and even pay their first batch of investors back their money with interest, only to disappear when they hit a big score.

[Broly46]

This has only tell me one thing, everybody has their time when it come to getting scammed, I do not believe there existed a single guy who never got scammed once in their entire life. What can I say about it? If $73,000 is a life saving to her then it would definitely hurt to be scammed. btw there is just too many scammers around us, it is not a joke anymore, eventually all of us would have our time to be scammed too, it is always best to get scammed small amount of money and get yourselves more aware of scammer.

[vv181]

What's funny is, she is a 51-year-old woman with all kinds of experiences she might have had in her lifetime.

I rather think it is ironic, a 51-year-old businesswoman, fell into this scam.  Alas, an experience does not mean anything if the perpetrator is doing their social engineering skill, I'm sure they are aware of how fragile she is and thus able to execute the scam successfully, note that they also set it up over a lengthy period of time.

Generally, scammer handbooks are similar in essence, playing the psychology part of the victim, building trust, pretending to help them, gaslighting them, etc. The problem is not many people are exposed or comprehend to how plentiful scammer are existing and how the method evolves, the method or mechanism is similar but the execution can be varied thus there will always be a new victim. It is unfortunate, but that's that.

[Hispo]

My theory is that people from that age lived a different period of time when they did not experiment much exposition to scams. It was a period of time when internet was not so widespread, as well.
Suddenly with the advance of the technology everyone is using smartphones and using webpages to do things like: paying bills, buying, selling and even ordering food.

Young people has grown up with these technologies and are more aware of the kind of things that can go wrong, and the kind of scams which can occur, the elderly do not. They are less aware of the advantage bad people use on internet and their trickery to steal money.

It is unfortunate, but that is what I think it is going on.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Dating scam is something that have been on for ages now, it is a very popular way to scam people, and in the case of this woman, I am not surprised, and I also do not blame her, it's probably not her fault, and I don't think lost that money out of greed of any kind, could be that she was hypnotized.

I live around some of the dating scammers and I tell you, if you see all the diabolical stuffs those guys do, in other to spiritually make their victim to be 100 percent submissive to them, you wouldnt blame the woman.

Anyways, I feel sorry for her though for such a loss, I hope she recovers it back soon.

[erep]

I am very concerned about fraud cases that are always related to crypto investing, based on the news above I have the conclusion that we must have the knowledge to control ourselves overcoming messages from unknown and blocking them, if the old woman has self-control then the conversation will never happen and he can never be fooled, but women are very sensitive to financial matters so he was curious to try instructions from scammer friends to deposit to fake exchanges, but I wonder why he didn't withdraw his first profit to convince him that he wasn't being scammed and he added a deposit of hundreds instead dollars again.

[zaki12]

lack of knowledge or understanding of an investment can make a person vulnerable to fraud or scams. So it is very important for everyone to keep learning and updating their knowledge about things that are relevant and important in their life, including about investing and finance.

Scammers always get scammed money and hopefully this incident will make us raise our awareness about scams. It should be important to always take proper precautions, including avoiding talking to people you don't know or can't trust, avoiding offers that are too good to be true, and always verifying information and its sources before making important financial decisions. From this story, it is easy for Shrajha to trust a stranger (coco) without knowing his clear background.

I believe that everyone who falls victim to a scam is due to a lack of knowledge or understanding. Some scams or scams are very sophisticated and difficult to detect even by someone who has sufficient knowledge about the topic. Also, some people may fall victim to other factors such as emotional stress or the desire for quick profits.

Therefore apart from increasing knowledge and understanding of important topics, it is also important to always be alert and skeptical of offers or opportunities that are too good to be true. Always verify information and its source, don't be easily swayed by tempting promises, and don't give out personal or confidential information to people you don't know or don't trust.

In addition, there are many resources and information that can help us identify and avoid fraud. For example, we can always do background checks on people offering investment opportunities or business deals, check other people's reviews or experiences with them, and talk to trusted sources before making a decision.

[TimeTeller]

Dating scam is something that have been on for ages now, it is a very popular way to scam people, and in the case of this woman, I am not surprised, and I also do not blame her, it's probably not her fault, and I don't think lost that money out of greed of any kind, could be that she was hypnotized.

I live around some of the dating scammers and I tell you, if you see all the diabolical stuffs those guys do, in other to spiritually make their victim to be 100 percent submissive to them, you wouldnt blame the woman.

Anyways, I feel sorry for her though for such a loss, I hope she recovers it back soon.

We can't judge her what she had done as we don't know the full story. How she was screwed by that scammer.
It may not be greed but yes, something like hypnotism may played the role in this.
But whatever it was, will be an expensive lesson for her. Better not trust strangers when it comes to money.
A lot have been scammed in dating apps or any online chat rooms, it will not be the last sad story that we will read over the net.
Scammers know their way how to earn trust from naive people. They are using such weakness without conscience.

[Zlantann]

Nowadays, scammers are rife in social media, and everyone needs to be very vigilant to avoid being a victim because they constantly devise new methods.However, greedy people tend to be the most susceptible to scams. I do wonder why someone would believe someone online and give them money, particularly if they introduced them to high-profit ventures.

As for me, I seldom ever respond to odd messages from any social networking platform, especially if I see that you're trying to introduce me to a business. Instead, I just block them.
 

Greed and the get-rich-quick syndrome is the main catalyst of falling for fraudsters. We should never think that anybody will freely give us access to big gains just like that. In recent times I am hardly active on any social media except because I have a business to handle online. The story shows clearly that Coco was not poor and she had buoyant savings, which means it was greed and discontentment that made her invest in that scam site.

I have received many messages from scammers about job offers and juicy investments. Sometimes I might decide to waste their time if I am less busy by asking them some questions that will make them stop the chat or cut the call. The bottom line is that never expect that somebody will ever assist you to make money you didn't work for on social media.  I feel sorry for Coco because she just her life savings to a bunch of criminals that will spend most of the money on drugs and luxury.

[Doan9269]

I've seen alot of losses in gambling but having experience with women making a huge losses in gambling is another thing not so common,  i believe women were also well to do in life and could be found in every settings of life, same also applies to gambling section, women olay a vital role and gambles but doing that in a bassark manner is what's rare, we need to always stay focused and be vigilant against any scam related.

[Pokapoka124]

I've seen alot of losses in gambling but having experience with women making a huge losses in gambling is another thing not so common,  i believe women were also well to do in life and could be found in every settings of life, same also applies to gambling section, women olay a vital role and gambles but doing that in a bassark manner is what's rare, we need to always stay focused and be vigilant against any scam related.

I don’t know much about women gambling. However I know for a fact women are more vulnerable to scams than men maybe because they are more expressive and more likely to talk about what they are thinking. Romance scammers exploit this trait and target single women between the age of 45-70 on dating sites, these women are lonely and desperate for attention that they refuse to believe that they are being scammed.

[lionheart78]

Coco is such a sneaky sweet guy and is now richer after disappearing. i think old women are prone to scams since they are the loneliest person when their kids are already grown and they have none to talk to. and having a new friend would give them something to do.

i wouldn't really blame the greed, everyone wants to make more money for their kids. the prob is just that she also entrusted her money to someone she had not met.

But, well it is greed plus trust that triggers the scamming incident.  Greed often makes a person irrational and emotional.  This is not the first time greed makes a waste of people's money.  There are lots of same stories as this.  The poor lady is blinded by the figure she thinks she would earn after learning about the earning opportunity presented by the scammer and she falls for it.  It was a double pitfall for the lady, I hope she is fine and able to move on with the heart breaks and pocket breaks.

[Potato Chips]

Yet another victim of pig butchering scam... but seriously, everyone should be aware of this scheme as this is likely the most popular crypto scam right now. Cipherblade estimated the losses to be around billion/s, see: https://cipherblade.com/blog/the-prevalence-of-sha-zhu-pan-aka-pig-butchering-scams/

As a rule of thumb, it's better to stay away from any stranger who starts talking about finances in your DMs as they're likely up to no good.

If you don't understand why these people fall for such scam, I would consider that as a good thing because you're most likely not a part of the target audience for this scam