A woman has revealed how she lost £34,000 in a romance scam involving bitcoin, after being deceived by a charming man she met in January 2017. The victim, who wished to remain anonymous, said the man persuaded her to invest in the cryptocurrency, claiming he would add her to his investment portfolio to yield greater returns. He told her he lived in London, but she later discovered he actually resided in Wales.
The scammer disappeared during the summer of 2017 but returned in September, knowing the woman had received an inheritance. He pressured her to invest more money, but she declined, believing the initial £34,000 investment would be sufficient to pay off her mortgage as bitcoin was performing well. However, on New Year's Eve 2017, after he vanished again, she realised she had been scammed and lost all her money.
The woman reported the fraud to the police, who investigated and found that the man had defrauded several others. Despite this, she was notified by email in December 2023 that her case was being closed due to insufficient evidence. She expressed deep regret, saying she felt she had let down her two sons.
