Crypto Mining Investment Scam with Fake Broker Support and Withdrawal Blocks
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.
They leaned on familiarity—an old friend and a seemingly attentive broker—to build credibility. Communication was always off-platform via WhatsApp, and profits were faked to bait more deposits. Withdrawal requests triggered delays, fee demands, and pressure tactics. When one “broker” failed, they recycled the same name for the replacement, revealing the script behind the scheme.
$13,700
The victim lost access to both the platform and his funds. Despite official complaints, there’s been no recovery. The scammer still contacts him, but he knows better now.