A WOMAN lost her life savings of $100,000 after she fell victim to a cryptocurrency scheme on LinkedIn.
Leah described her state of mind at the time as vulnerable when she received a message in the summer of 2023 from a supposed investor with ties to China on the business and job-searching social media platform.
The woman, who is from Antelope, California, about 30 minutes north of Sacramento, described the perp as persuasive and legit after messaging her through a business account on LinkedIn.
The scammer described himself as an investor with links to China and gained Leah’s trust after chatting with her for several months.
“At the time, I was having an issue. My brother got sick, I was very vulnerable, and I was hoping to make some money to make my life easier,” Leah told NBC affiliate KCRA-TV.
An emotional Leah said the money was her entire life savings.
“My family doesn’t even know of what happened,” she said through tears.
“He reached out to me and was talking about investing.”
Leah said she was interested in the proposal as a way to earn extra money.
The conversation with the scammer eventually moved from LinkedIn to WhatsApp.
“He was guiding me through the crypto and making deposits in my electronic wallet,” she recalled.
Leah eventually transferred a large sum of money into a cryptocurrency account she owned.
The crook convinced Leah to transfer the funds to what she would be an investment.
“The address he gave me must have been to his wallet because [the money] went somewhere,” she said.
‘I WAS VERY VULNERABLE’
However, once Leah’s money was transferred, her account was immediately drained, and the person proceeded to quickly block her on all social media platforms.
After realizing what happened, Leah reported the incident to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
Sergeant Amar Gandhi told KCRA-TV that crimes like Leah’s are extremely difficult to solve.
“We’ll call these criminals all kinds of names, but stupid is not one,” Gandhi said.
“They are creative. They’re smart, and they’re manipulative.”
Gandhi said those types of financial crimes are typically too much for his department to handle, so they seek assistance from several state and federal agents.
“Once that money leaves your account, especially via wire, especially via crypto. Crypto was designed to again be very untraceable, and that’s, again, its strength,” the sergeant added.
“And then it’s the weakness if you didn’t mean to let that money go.”
In 2023, over $5.6 billion was lost in cryptocurrency scams, according to the FBI.
Leah has not retrieved her money.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to LinkedIn for comment.
Expert Tips: Crypto Scam Red Flags
Scam expert Toby Braun, the managing partner for American Special Investigative Group and Heroya Cryptocurrency Investigations spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun about the warning signs of crypto scams.
Beware of a “Crypto trading platform, service or fund offering unusually high returns,” he said as these “are more than likely a scam.”
Individuals who still go ahead with the investment should ensure that “professional due diligence” is carried out regarding the individual or platform.
His second tip is to “refrain from responding to personal solicitations involving cryptocurrency from an unknown source.”
This can be via any social media platform, emails, text messages, or WhatsApp.
The third red flag is being approached by people who seem to be overly friendly.
“Many scammers use deepfake technology to pretend to be someone on dating sites they are not,” Braun said.
“Once the scammers connect with their unbeknown victim who is often just looking for a real connection, they flatter them before sharing how much money they are making with crypto.
“The victim is then lured into making substantial investments, and deposit funds they’ll never see again.”
Similarly, the expert warned people away from engaging with strangers or people they have just met if they are asking for money or encouraging them to invest.
Lastly, “be aware of anything that simply sounds too good to be true. It generally never is,” he added.
