3 Kootenay residents defrauded $516K after cryptocurrency investments

Three people in the BC Interior have been degraded a combined total of $516,000 last month after investing money into cryptocurrency websites.

The RCMP have issued a warning to residents to be cautious when investing in cryptocurrency and to be wary of anyone who pressures you into investing.

On Mar. 10, RCMP officers in Trail received a report about a 47-year-old Fruitvale man who had established a relationship with someone through social media and convinced him to invest in cryptocurrency.

According to a news release, the person provided the man a link to the website and encouraged him to invest large sums of money.

Police say the man invested up to $190,000.

“After months, the man learnt that his money and investment had disappeared after he transferred it to a third-party electronic location outside of his account,” the news release said.

Two days later, on Mar. 12, police received a report about an 84-year-old woman who was defrauded $4,000 after investing in cryptocurrency through a social media platform.

About two weeks later, on Mar. 27, the police received a third report of someone being defrauded through a cryptocurrency website.

The 50-year-old Rossland man started investing in 2021 and reportedly invested a total of $322,000 into a publicly available website.

In all three cases, the money is not recoverable.

“You will likely be scammed if you invest in cryptocurrency. The public needs to take precautions and avoid buying cryptocurrency,” said Sgt. Wicentowich.

“You do not know who you are dealing with nor where your money is actually going to end up. These kinds of investments are likely not insured or guarantee against fraud and theft.”