Scottish woman sells her home after losing nearly $200,000 to crypto scams

Scottish woman sells her home after losing nearly $200,000 to crypto scams

A resident of the Scottish county of Lanarkshire has been left with a debt of £150,000 (nearly $190,000) after falling victim to a cryptocurrency scam. She is now forced to sell her house to avoid further financial problems.

The woman sought assistance from Advice Direct Scotland and local police, but the agencies were unable to help her recover the funds.

“It’s absolutely horrific”

Jenniferdecidedto invest her money in a crypto system after seeing a dubious ad on Facebook featuring consulting expert Martin Lewis.

“Martin Lewis was exactly the reason I got into investing,” she explained.

The British journalist is the creator of a website that gives advice on savings techniques. He has also been vocal against scammers who have used his image in the past.

However, Jennifer believed in the legitimacy of the project and invested almost $190,000 through Revolut earlier this year. After investing for ten days in a row, her bank started blocking some of the transfers, which made her doubt that something was wrong.

Jennifer felt “devastated” when she discovered she was caught in the web of crypto scammers. She also said her outstanding debts were so high that she had to sell her house to avoid further financial problems:

"I've never been in debt in my life, I've never taken out a loan in my life, I've never had a credit card bill. I actually can't believe what's happened to me, it's absolutely horrific. It's taken me a long time to get to where I am and the thought of losing this home, obviously for the sake of my children, is horrific."

The Scottish resident believes she was the perfect target for the criminals as she was “a very vulnerable person”.

"Words wouldn't describe how I'm feeling right now. I feel sick every day," she concluded.

Unfortunately, local police and Advice Direct Scotland classified her case as a fraud, meaning she was unable to reclaim the lost money.

Martin Lewis emphasized that this incident made him “sick”. He also warned people against investing in programs that show his image:

"If you see me in an ad, that's a scam. I don't advertise, and I have the ignominious title of being the person whose face is used in more scam ads than anyone else."

Fraud is not location specific

Unfortunately, Jennifer's case is just one in a series of scams that have recently taken place around the world.Another example is a woman from Hong Kong wholosther life savings worth nearly $900,000.

She fell victim to a scammer who contacted her on Instagram and urged her to invest in digital assets with the promise of big returns.

When the woman tried to withdraw some of her money, she was asked to pay a certain fee. She even tried to borrow money from her daughter before realizing she had been scammed.

Hong Kong law enforcement classified the case as “obtaining property by deception,” a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. However, authorities have not yet arrested any suspects.

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