- A Queensland couple lost A$860,000 in an online trading scam.
- The couple sold their properties and put that money into an investment opportunity.
- The said platform taught the couple how to buy stocks and trade crypto.
A family residing in Queensland has found themselves as victims of a scam. The Aussie couple invested A$860,000 a year ago in a popular trading platform which turned out to be a trap that they fell into.
Apparently, Veronica and her husband sold their properties and decided to put that money into an investment opportunity where they could reap the benefits of the funds later.
In a hunt to find the right medium of investment, the couple stumbled upon the popular trading platform. They said the platform taught the couple how to buy stocks and trade crypto. At one point their balance was sitting at US$700,000 based on the original A$860,000 that they had invested initially.
Notably, Veronica and her husband were convinced by the interface of the site and the security it apparently offered. The site was referred to them by a financial broker of the couple’s family which made them even more assured of their investments.
However, after a year they saw red flags and feared their money is lost forever.
Veronica told in an interview:
They (the staff) know everything about trading, they know all about the news, and they had to appear good at their jobs so we’d keep investing. When you ring them there are people talking, phones ringing in the background, market briefs, he’ll be talking to a receptionist saying ‘put this stuff on the desk
The staff had called the couple to say they had a margin call and have until the end of the day for the couple to deposit another A$115,000 or their account will be closed. That was where they guessed it was a con.
After consulting a cyber security expert, Nick Savvides, her fears were confirmed. Savvides pointed out several things that confirmed the scam such as no phone numbers or physical addresses appearing on the platform. Also, private domain registration was under the jurisdiction of Seychelles and not Europe, unlike claimed.
While concluding, Savvides said that the money could have probably ended up overseas and could be part of an organized crime gang.
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