A man from Central Florida, who prefers to remain anonymous, became a target of a random text message from an attractive woman. This eventually led to his involvement in a romance-investment scheme, resulting in him wiring $50,000 to two international banks.
According to the victim’s account to News 6, the woman, who went by the name “Lilli,” engaged in photo exchanges with him and initiated a relationship.
This connection evolved from friendship to romance, eventually presenting an opportunity to earn $5,000 per day through a $50,000 investment in Ethereum. Ethereum is a decentralized blockchain platform that establishes a peer-to-peer network.
“After a while, she said she wanted to live with me and we’d be together forever,” the victim stated to News 6. “She told me it was safe, and I trusted her.”
The retired Air Force veteran mentioned nearing retirement and expressed the desire to boost his savings through Ethereum investments for future travels with his newfound love.
Unfortunately, he missed the opportunity to take advantage of the $5,000 daily offer and witnessed no growth in his account. The last communication he had with Lilli was on Veterans Day 2023.
Bank records obtained by News 6 have verified that the funds were transferred to banks in Vietnam and Hong Kong. The images of a young Korean woman utilized in the scheme seem to belong to a Korean model.
News 6 managed to identify over 20 photos of the woman; however, the names and settings varied, and there is no evidence linking the model to the scheme.
The records were presented to the U.S. Secret Service Field Office in Orlando by News 6 to investigate the possibility of tracing the funds.
Caroline O’Brien-Buster, the Special Agent in Charge, stated that the lost funds constitute only a small portion of what is likely a sophisticated international investment scheme.
“He’s not going to get the money back. All of his money went overseas,” O’Brien-Buster said. “They’ll blast out hundreds, thousands of these accidental texts in hopes to get one or two people to respond back to them. It’s a business for these guys.”
Anyone who receives investment opportunities is advised by the U.S. Secret Service to conduct some basic research online.
“If somebody were to present you with a company that is offering high-yield returns, just do a simple Google search on them,” O’Brien-Buster told News 6. “(Don’t use) the link they are giving you, just take the name of the company. You would be so thankful if you did that rather than fall for one of these scams.”
In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission disclosed that scams caused consumers to lose $8.8 billion, out of which $3.8 billion was attributed to investment schemes.
For the initial nine months of 2023, the FTC revealed that $3.7 billion was lost in scams related to investments, with cryptocurrency emerging as the primary payment method.
In that same period, residents of Florida experienced a loss of $29 million due to investment scams.
