Consumer complaint received 2026-06-01 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — International money transfer
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: TransferWise Ltd
State: CA

Complaint narrative:
Individual involved : XXXX XXXX XXXX ( reconnected via social media, claimed to still be a high school friend from XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) Summary of Events : I reconnected with XXXX XXXX XXXX through social media in early XXXX. After several months of conversations, he began pressuring me to invest in software projects. On XX/XX/year>, I sent him {$1000.00} via Wise for development of an XXXX analytics and auto-posting software. He claimed the full-time developer ( XXXX, described as an XXXX software engineer ) would begin work immediately and that the product would generate significant income with minimal effort. On XX/XX/year>, I sent an additional {$250.00} via Wise after he claimed he lost his wallet in XXXX and needed short-term funds. He later returned this amount but he contradicted the circumstances of this event by claiming he lost " everything except my passport but he would later show me credit cards and his driver license after I accused him of being an XXXX deepfake around XX/XX/XXXX. On XX/XX/year>, I sent {$450.00} via Wise for XXXX XXXX XXXX which he said would allow passive income generation XXXX XXXX XXXX of dollars every month easy. XXXX XXXX percent. Total paid : {$1700.00} ( net loss {$1400.00} after the {$250.00} refund ). Issues : No software, code, login credentials, or product was ever delivered despite repeated promises. Deadlines were repeatedly missed. He claimed the software was finished and being tested, then provided constant excuses about the developer ( sick, at the beach, irregular sleep schedule, etc. ). He claimed to have created a demo XXXX account ( he claimed this account has the XXXX name XXXX ) that gained followers quickly but refused to provide a link or proof. I repeatedly requested to meet the developer or receive the product and was given promises that were never fulfilled ( including multiple claims the software had been emailed, which never occurred ). He used discussions of my own business ideas to try to solicit additional investment around XX/XX/XXXX before I openly called him out on his lies and began to reach out to his family because I believed that he was either an XXXX deepfake or had been kidnapped by a dark society cult. After weeks of delays and no deliverables, I demanded a refund. XXXX responded with accusations ( including false claims that I harassed his family ) and did not return any funds. No legitimate product or services were provided. He spent more time talking about the XXXX than he spent showing me the product. This is because he spent most of his time telling me about the XXXX and none of the time showing me the product. He claimed the product would be delivered to me within a week of purchase ( XX/XX/XXXX at the latest ) but refused to even send code past XX/XX/XXXX. A major part of this scam was the existence of the XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX who he promised I would get to call and speak to immediately after purchase but I never got to meet him. XXXX XXXX claims the money I paid him via Wise was paid to XXXX via XXXX. And yet I have received no communication except a few texts via XXXX from XXXX but no phone calls or solid proof of his existence.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation