The scam was carried out when the man responded to a Facebook advertisement purporting to be able to double his money. While he thought it was too good to be true, he clicked on the advertisement, entered his details and invested a small sum, which was then returned to him — doubled.
Acting Senior Sergeant Jayne Bretherton, of Greymouth, said that initial transaction instilled confidence in the man that it was a legitimate investment opportunity.
The man later received a phone call from a man who said he worked for a crypto currency firm in Switzerland, and asked for additional information, including bank account numbers.
The victim provided the information, enabling the scammer access to the victim’s bank account and make several transactions.
"This deception occurred over several months, with a relationship and trust built over that time. The victim said the male seemed legitimate and described him as a very smart man."
However, Snr Sgt Bretherton issued a warning about these types of schemes:
"If it seems too good to be true it most likely will be. Scams are intended to manipulate or trick people into giving away their personal details, financial details, or money.
"A scam becomes fraud when the individual responsible for the scam gets and uses someone’s personal financial details or money under false pretenses, for their own gain, and fraud is a criminal offence."
She advised if someone thought they had been scammed to stop all contact with the scammer, not to reply to emails, letters or calls and to block the scammer if they could.
Do not make any more payments or give money to anyone promising to get lost money back.
She also said to immediately contact the bank or service that money was sent through, as it would have a policy to deal with fraud. — Greymouth Star
By Meg Fulford
