Cryptocurrency scam; St. Francis woman loses $80,000
St. Francis woman loses $80,000 in cryptocurrency scam
A St. Francis woman lost more than $80,000 to a cryptocurrency investment scam. She invested about $55,000 and paid another $30,000 in taxes and fees.
ST. FRANCIS, Wis. - A St. Francis woman thought she'd earned tens of thousands of dollars by investing in cryptocurrency. On her wedding anniversary, she surprised her husband with her earnings. The reality was devastating for both of them.
"She had a big smile on her face saying, "Look what I did," recalled Scott Johansson. "All I thought was, 'This is not real.'"
The scam
Johansson said his wife found the investment opportunity on Facebook. Her first investment was $30,000. It appeared to yield incredible gains within weeks.
"Better than the stock market," said Johansson. "The interest said, you've basically doubled your money."
Scott Johansson
Johansson said his wife invested a total of $55,000 in the scam. Eventually, she wanted to withdraw her $100,000 worth of cryptocurrency. To do that, she had to pay another $30,000 in taxes and fines. She paid another $30,000.
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"It was not until she was $80,000 in that she had to accept that she was being scammed," said Johansson.
How it works
Contact 6 spoke with April DeValkenaere, owner of Fortress Forensic Investigations. DeValkenaere is a certified cryptocurrency investigator.
"[The scammers] try to get you to invest a smaller amount first. They show you these incredible gains," said DeValkenaere. "Usually it's double your money within two to four weeks."
April DeValkenaere
DeValkenaere said victims can track their investments on fake platforms, like the one used by Johansson's wife. The reality is: the funds are gone as soon as they're deposited.
In the meantime, the victim is investing more money and encouraged to let it sit as long as possible, to the scammer's benefit.
"When (the victim takes) that case to law enforcement, the money was gone a year ago," said DeValkenaere,
Hard to trace
Cryptocurrency also has no central bank, which makes transactions very difficult to trace, especially if the money is transferred repeatedly.
DeValkenaere advises against finding investment opportunities on social media.
To protect yourself before any investment, including in cryptocurrency, DeValkenaere recommends going to FINRA.org and checking the broker's background.
"It will give you a snapshot of their employment history. Are they licensed to actually provide services?" said DeValkenaere.
Police investigation
Johnansson and his wife reported the crime to police.
"(The officer) said there's a 99% chance that your money is gone," said Johansson.
Investigators determined the scammers are most likely in Nigeria.
The fallout
Johansson's wife did not want to go on camera.
"She has a really hard time sleeping at night," said Johansson. "She now has a lot of trust issues."
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Johansson said his wife thinks their lesson is important to share.
"If it sounds too good to be true, it's fake," said Johansson.
Consumer warning
One big red flag in this case? Being asked to pay taxes before withdrawing any money. Cryptocurrency is unregulated, which means there shouldn't be any taxes. If it were regulated, that money would come from your earnings.
The Source: Information for this report comes from interviews with Scott Johansson and April DeValkenaere. Also, screenshots provided to Contact 6 of the scam platform by Johansson, email messages with the scammer and a St. Francis Police incident report.