FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — Fort Pierce grandfather and veteran Bob Nelson said he wishes he had seen the warning signs before investing his entire life savings into what ended up being a cryptocurrency scam.
“They were all very professional how they were presenting this. I had no idea. No idea until all my money was gone,” Nelson said. “Truly disappointing, humiliating, and infuriating.”
We hear about it all the time, people being tricked into putting everything on the line, only to find out it was a scam. Cryptocurrency schemes cost consumers $3.8 billion last year, twice as much as in 2021 according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Nelson said he thought this was his big break. A young woman approached him on Facebook. After building a relationship, they start talking about cryptocurrency.
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“She started telling me how much money she was making on bitcoin futures and that interested me, of course,” Nelson said.
The woman convinced him to make an account on what he thought was the well-known token trading site called Curve.
Nelson watched his investments double, then triple. Within weeks, he was making hundreds of thousands of dollars exchanging crypto online, enough money to take care of his entire family. Or so he thought.
“Well, I thought this seems to be working so well I borrow some more money and putting sent more wires in,” Nelson said.
Things took a turn when he tried moving everything into his digital wallet. Nelson said a security error came up on his account telling him he needed to put in almost $100,000 more in order to access his money. That’s when Nelson said he realized the site was fake, but by then, it was too late.
“I don’t know where I go from here. I don’t know. It’s real tough,” Nelson said.
Those with the Federal Trade Commission say to beware of online love interests trying to give investment advice. And before putting your information online, make sure to authenticate the website it’s going on.
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Nelson said he contacted both local and federal authorities.
CBS12 News spoke with representatives at the secret service headquarters in Miami who they say unfortunately, they deal with cases like this every single day.
Read More: ‘I had no idea until all my money was gone’: Fort Pierce man loses life savings