LAKEWOOD, Colo. — Contact Denver7 has been reporting on cryptocurrency scams for a number of months, and now a preferred one has made its solution to Lakewood.

It is referred to as the “pig butcher rip-off.” The sufferer is satisfied at hand over their cash to an unauthorized crypto investor. The scammer then places the funds into an account that seems to develop in worth. Then, the scammer disappears together with a considerable amount of cryptocurrency.

A 46-year-old Cleveland, Ohio, man, who wished to stay nameless, says he misplaced $750,000 after falling sufferer to the rip-off.

“The time period pig butchering principally comes from a farmer fattening up the pig earlier than they slaughter it. And on this case, it is the suspect who was fattening up their sufferer,” stated Lakewood Police public data officer John Romero.

Within the final month, the division has had a pair folks fall sufferer to the rip-off. Romero says it’s often by social media and relationship websites like LinkedIn and Tinder.

Lakewood police put out an alert on their Fb web page reminding folks to remain vigilant.

“I all the time thought I’d by no means fall for one thing like that,” stated Steve Belcher, who misplaced $1.6 million in a pig butcher rip-off.

The sufferer from Cleveland reached out to Contact Denver7 when he noticed our story from December on Belcher.

The Cleveland sufferer says he talked to his scammer on Tinder for a number of months, lengthy sufficient for them to achieve his belief. That’s when the crypto conversations started.

“She instructed me concerning the website to enroll in, and that’s what gave me the arrogance that I used to be doing every thing,” he stated.

The sufferer was in a position to make a number of withdrawals from the crypto account he arrange and not using a drawback, however quickly after, he might not entry the cash. Then he bought a message from the scammer telling him he needed to pay greater than $204,000 in deposits to have the ability to entry his crypto account, solely then realizing he’d been scammed.

Lakewood police say there’s a number of issues you are able to do to stop this from occurring to you.

“It’s a kind of issues the place by no means spend your cash on-line with somebody you don’t know, particularly should you’ve by no means met them in particular person,” stated Romero.

He additionally stresses to by no means give out your account data or types of ID to somebody you don’t know.

“Do your homework, and if it’s too good to be true, it most likely is,” stated the Cleveland rip-off sufferer.

Lakewood police say the truth is that almost all victims of crypto scams won’t ever see their cash once more. Regardless, it is best to give police a name instantly should you suspect chances are you’ll be a sufferer.

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