Success Case of Recovering Money from a Crypto Scam
We selected the following case study from our large database as we believe it is quite representative and many scam victims could benefit from reading it. Funds Recovery case coordinators are often in contact with clients who have had a very similar experience and need appropriate help.
Though every case is unique, many defrauded individuals have experienced financial loss through providing cryptocurrency to swindlers. This is mainly because fraudsters abuse the benefits of crypto like being easily transferable. As a result, a large number of people approach us on a daily basis due to crypto scams, and this is how Funds Recovery helped one such individual.
Please note that for privacy reasons, the names and places have been modified. However, we did leave the actual name of the cryptocurrency scam. Furthermore, our client has given their consent to publish their modified story so other crypto fraud victims could benefit.
The Case of Jeremy W.
How he lost money to KontoFX and How Funds Recovery Helped Him Retrieve It
In late January 2022, Mr. W. left his contact details on the Funds Recovery site with a simple note that he wasn’t able to access his assets. Our case coordinator quickly took notice and after a brief email exchange, they scheduled a conversation over the phone.
The Importance of the First Phone Call.
Jeremy’s Story and how he lost his money
During the first phone call, our agent could ascertain the following information. Jeremy was a hardworking man living in a larger city in Nebraska. He had built a career in the carpentering industry, and though still in his prime, he was thinking about making some investments in order to increase his pension fund to enjoy his golden years comfortably. For this reason, he was reading about and exploring potential crypto investments.
While he was frequenting a Facebook group dedicated to providing news about the crypto market he saw an advertisement for KontoFX. It got him intrigued and he visited their site. As he was impressed by the platform he left his contact information. As Jeremy recalls, this occurred in the late spring of 2021, May presumably.
Funds Recovery Comment:
Very often individuals get in contact with cryptocurrency scams through advertisements on social media. People tend to be less suspicious of marketing content on the platforms they frequent. As a result, they easily fall for money-grabbing traps as they feel social media like Facebook, Instagram, and even Linkedin are safe spaces. Unfortunately, crypto scams exploit this and that’s why they often advertise there. So far, big institutions like Meta do very little to put a stop to this.
Soon after he was contacted by a man presenting himself as Fred Goldman, who was rather friendly and available to help any day and night. Jeremy received a series of calls during which Mr. Goldman actively enticed Jeremy to make deposits to KontoFX.
Throughout several summer months of 2021, Mr. Goldman was in constant contact with Jeremy, instructing him to buy Bitcoins and forward them to KontoFX. In the end, Jeremy deposited in total over 30,000 USA dollars into the crypto fraud. He was manipulated into believing he was investing in a legitimate business which was giving him excellent returns.
Funds Recovery Comment:
Scam targets are often exposed to social engineering and heavy manipulating tactics that entice them to give out more and more money to fraudsters. A common scamming tactic is to make the target believe they are generating money, usually with a fake representation of numbers on their account. The person is led to believe they are making money, so they invest further sums, while in fact, it’s all a lie, and they are simply giving away their money to criminals.
After Jeremy presented his case, the Funds Recovery representative realized that Mr. W was still under the delusion that he had made a substantial profit summing up to $70,000, and all he needed was some help to access it. Our experienced professional had encountered this kind of situation countless times.
Funds Recovery Comment:
Considerable number of scam victims are not aware they have been defrauded. As part of a coping mechanism, they rationalize the scheme and the buy-in hollow excuses the scammers feed them. This is a normal human reaction to falsely hope for the better, otherwise, the person needs to come to terms they have lost huge amounts of money.
The Case Coordinator collected the information from the initial conversation and immediately scheduled the next meeting over the phone, of course with Jeremy’s permission. The agent checked Funds Recovery’s database of scams and he did a cursory investigation on KontoFX. It was clear this was a fraud, and that Jeremy W. was unfortunate to get caught in it.
Funds Recovery Helps Scam Victims Understand Their Case.
How Jeremy came to terms with his financial loss
Afterward, The Funds Recovery representative and Mr. W. had several phone meetings during which the case coordinator tactfully explained Jeremy’s situation. Mr. W. hadn’t made $70,000 trading on the crypto market, and that money wasn’t “simply locked in an account”. Those were just fake numbers to feed the lie, while Jeremy did in fact lose about $30,000.
Understandably, it was rough for Mr. W. but it was a necessary step. Funds Recovery representatives pride themselves on their investigative skills, but they value their empathy and communication skills even more. After all, we understand that our clients have suffered great financial and emotional loss and we treat them with kindness and respect.
Taking the First Step.
Jeremy hired Funds Recovery which was the beginning of the reimbursement process
Once Jeremy got to terms with his loss, he decided to hire Funds Recovery services and he became our official client in January 2022. The case coordinator was on top of the case right away. What followed was a crucial step in the recovery process. The case coordinator interviewed Mr. W. with the intent to acquire any pertinent details which could help the case.
Our team ascertained that Jeremy W. used his credit card issued by Wells Fargo bank to purchase Bitcoins on a respectable crypto exchange platform. Mr. W. did this 6 times in the period of 72 days with each next purchase being larger than the previous. Also, Jeremy used the same CEX services to transfer his crypto assets every time. The case coordinator helped Mr. W. with collecting all the necessary receipts and documentation. More importantly, the case coordinator managed to track transactions and provide the listings to back them up.
Funds Recovery Investigative Work
The challenges our team overcomes when helping a client
In the meantime, the Funds Recovery team did a thorough search on KontoFX collecting data and evidence of fraud. As Mr. W. used crypto assets to make deposits, the team also performed crypto tracing, and as it turned out, the scammers were fully prepared. They were jumping pieces of crypto from one wallet to another, thus dispersing Jeremy’s $30,000 in Bitcoin. Nevertheless, this was a common obfuscation tactic that the Funds Recovery team had dealt with countless times.
The fraudsters behind the fake crypto investments platform tried to cover their tracks, but their biggest mistake was that they all collected their crypto on CEX.IO, with accounts connected to 2 separate banks in China. Later on, through digital forensics analysis, Funds Recovery was able to discover the identity of scammers and prove that their accounts were directly connected to KontoFX fraud.
Holding the Liable Financial Institutions Responsible
The Funds Recovery team took the case to banks and crypto exchange platforms to dispute charges
All the data and evidence that the Funds Recovery team had collected was utilized by the case managers who took over Jeremy’s case. They made a plan of recovery and they identified all the liable financial institutions and crypto trading platforms including Wells Fargo, two crypto trading platforms, along with several intermediary banks. Practically speaking, these financial institutions enabled the KontoFX scam to profit and benefit from the transfer of funds.
The case managers prepared all the necessary documentation for appeals to the financial institutions These custom-made written files would serve as official claims which would dispute the charges which impacted Mr. W negatively.
What ensued was a lengthy dispute process during which Funds Recovery would instruct Jeremy and provide him with new letters which pushed the reimbursement claims further. This to a layman seems like a grueling process of two steps back one step forward. Nevertheless, our experts knew that this was all a legal pageantry financial institutions abuse to eschew responsibility and pay back their customers.
Success!
In the end, Jeremy W received most of his money back
After almost half a year, in August 2022 Jeremy W decided to close his case. Funds Recovery has helped him recover $26,422 which is 88% of his initial losses. We were glad to help yet another customer, and we are always ready to help new scam victims.