Scam Type

Investment Scam

Red Flag

  • Being contacted through a messaging app by someone claiming to make profits and needing help to trade.
  • The demand to pay a large personal income tax based on fake profits.
  • The sudden freezing of the account to prevent withdrawals.

Details

The victim joined a trading blog on social media, where he met two individuals—“Mr. Charlie” and “Tina”—claiming to represent Fitbela Epro Limited, a UK-based Forex trading firm. They persuaded him to open a Forex trading account on the Meta 5 Trading platform and promised high returns. The victim initially invested $10,000 and was told the account had grown significantly, prompting him to invest even more. Following their direction, he eventually sent a total of $92,000 via wire transfer. Later, they claimed his account was now worth $200,000. When the victim attempted to withdraw his funds, he was told he needed to pay $87,000 in taxes before any money could be released. At that point, he recognized it as a scam.

Scammer Behaviour

The scammers used a fake personal connection to build trust, showing fake profits to lure the victim into investing. They then locked the account and demanded a large tax payment, trying to create fear and urgency. The scammer’s false claim of reimbursed taxes was meant to keep the victim hopeful and engaged, prolonging the scam.

Potential Lost Funds

$20,000+

Final Outcome

The victim was unable to withdraw funds after paying or transferring money and was scammed out of their investment.