A Sacramento County woman, identified only as Leah, fell victim to a cryptocurrency scam that cost her $100,000—her entire life savings.
Leah shared that the scam took place over several months as a person posing as an investor gained her trust. “This is my whole life savings that I lost,” she said emotionally, breaking down in tears during the interview. She hasn’t even told her family about the ordeal.
The scammer, who described himself as an investor with connections to China, initially contacted Leah through LinkedIn. As their conversations progressed, they moved to the messaging platform WhatsApp. Over time, he built trust, convincing Leah to invest a significant amount of money in cryptocurrency.
“He was guiding me through the crypto process, having me make deposits in my electronic wallet,” Leah explained. “But the address he gave me must have been for his wallet, because the money went somewhere else.”
Leah’s account was drained immediately, and the scammer blocked her on all social media platforms, leaving her with no way to contact him. She quickly reported the scam to law enforcement, but by then, his profiles had disappeared.
“They’re smart, manipulative, and very creative,” said Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesperson for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
Gandhi explained that once money is transferred via cryptocurrency, it becomes nearly impossible to retrieve due to the untraceable nature of crypto transactions. “Crypto was designed to be untraceable, which is both its strength and its weakness,” he said.
The FBI reported that over $5.6 billion was lost to cryptocurrency scams in 2023, and authorities continue to urge victims to report such crimes, even though recovery of funds is rare.
Unfortunately, Leah has not recovered any of the money she lost.