Consumer complaint received 2025-01-08 00:00:00
Product: Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service — Virtual currency
Issue: Fraud or scam — 
Company: Foris DAX, Inc.
State: CO

Complaint narrative:
I got involved in a crypt scam starting XX/XX/2024 and ended XX/XX/2024, over 8 months I was scammed out of approx. {$200000.00}. Yes, I was duped and stupid but I still need help or assistance to see if any money can be retrieved or recovered. Crypto services need to be better at recognizing these scams but more importantly XXXX is the company that perpetuated and supports these scams and is the entity that I feel must be held accountable. After all it is XXXX platform or service that allows the scammers to operate. the following is from the FBI website and describes this scam exactly. I wish I had researched scams and found this when I was first contacted by the scammers. 

Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Cryptocurrency investment fraud, which the media commonly describes as " pig butchering, '' is one of the most prevalent and damaging fraud schemes today. 

Scammers, through various means of manipulation, convince victims to deposit more and more money into financial investments using cryptocurrency. In truth, these investments are fake ; all victim money is under the control ofand ultimately stolen bycriminal actors, usually overseas. As a result, victims typically lose all money they invested. 

Learn more about cryptocurrency investment fraud and the process scammers use to find potential victims. If you believe you've been a victim of this scam, stop sending money to the scammers and file a report at ic3.gov.

The Process 1. The Selection of the Victim Scammers use a variety of methods to initially lure and contact victims. Here are some of the most common methods : Social Media : Scammers use social media to reach out to victims directlyby messaging themor indirectly through deceitful job advertisements or investment opportunities that can be found on all main social media platforms. 

Texting : Scammers text victims pretending they misdialed a number, sending a photo of themselves, or saying they work for a company that is hiring for job opportunities. 

Dating Sites : Scammers create thousands of fake dating profiles on all common dating sites and match with victims to establish a romantic relationship based on trust. 
Bottom Line : If you met someone through a method described above, and that person pitched an investment opportunity that involved cryptocurrencybeware : this is likely cryptocurrency investment fraud. 

Cryptocurrency investment schemes are socially-engineered and trust-enabled, usually beginning with a romance or confidence scam and evolving into cryptocurrency investment fraud. 
Report Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Visit ic3.gov, the FBI 's Internet Crime Complaint Center ( IC3 ), to report cryptocurrency investment fraud scams. 

Cartoon-style visualization of a thief stealing a crypto coin. Used with permission from ABA. 
Infographic : Cryptocurrency Scams : What You Should Know ( PDF ) Red Flag : Once the victim agrees to continue communicating, it's common for the scammer to ask to move their messaging to another platform, including XXXX or XXXX, " Hey, do you have XXXX, lets talk there. '' They may use a different phone number from the one the victim may have been contacted from initially. 

For variants involving a professional relationship only, scammers may invite victims to join chat groups, where there are often many others in the same chatroommost of whom are scammers impersonating " happy '' clients.

2. The Building of Trust Once initial communication has been established, scammers seek to deceive victims about who they are ( their " persona '' ) and what they want ( their " desires '' ) to forge trust with the victim. Tactics vary, but below are common characteristics of cryptocurrency investment fraud scammer personas : Excessive flattery Empathizing with, and often suffering from, similar life events as the victim ( e.g., if a victim is going through a divorce, then the scammer may be going through a divorce, too ).

Suffering from a hardship that requires help from the victim.

Sharing pictures, often selfies, of themselves. 
Offering to meet in person but making those meetings contingent upon the victim accomplishing a task ( e.g., we can meet once you raise enough money ). 
Offering to meet in person, but always finding an excuse at the last minute for why they cant. 
Expressing a strong romantic interest in the victim. 
Agreeing to some video conference calls but preferring instead to speak over text. 
3. The Pitch Once trust is established with victims, criminals introduce the topic of investing. It's common for scammers to say they themselvesor people in their family or close networkare experts in such investments. They may promise they can bring the victim in on " the ground floor. '' Types of investments can vary, however common ones include binary trading, liquidity mining, and gold futures. 

4. The Initial Investment Once the scammer convinces the victim to participate in their scheme, the scammer will instruct the victim how to invest the money, as follows : Open a cryptocurrency account at a reputable exchange. 
Transfer money from a traditional bank account to the new cryptocurrency account. 
Convert the moneynow hosted on the cryptocurrency exchangeto the cryptocurrency type the scammer specifies, e.g., Bitcoin, Ether, Tether. 
Open an account on the " investment platform '' provided by the scammer or an individual or group that the scammer directed the victim to. 
Deposit the cryptocurrency to the investment platform either directly or through a private wallet. 
Investment Platforms : Note that these " platforms '' exist in the form of what appear to be traditional websites, either accessible via the web or through a specific browser only accessible via cryptocurrency applications. Common factors include : Registration using an email address or phone number.

Two-factor authentication ( e.g., a phone number + an email address ) to log in. 
A website name that closely mimicsor " spoofs '' a legitimate site. 
A professional-looking site design that shows the portfolio in an appealing manner. 
A customer support portal used to communicate about investments and withdrawals. 
Did You Know? 

Scammers may use deepfake technology and/or hire real people to engage with you on the phone. Even if they're real people you're speaking to, they could be part of a scam. 



Cryptocurrency Job Scams Cryptocurrency Job Scams Cryptocurrency job scams begin when scammers, masquerading as employees of legitimate companies, recruit victims and require them to deposit their own money in order to complete the job. 

Red Flag : Were you introduced to the investment scheme by someone in person? If it was someone you know, it could be that they, too, are unwitting victims, and you should warn them immediately. If it was a stranger, and they pitched the idea not long after meeting you, it is entirely possible they are part of a criminal network supporting these schemes. 

5. The Growing Investment Once the victim starts to " invest, '' returns shown on the investment platform will appear to be extremely lucrative, encouraging the victim to invest more and more. It is common in the early stages for the scammers to allow victims to withdraw not only the original deposit but the earnings as well. This is meant to trick victimsa means to reassure them that the platform is legitimate. Scammers use various means to sweeten the pot, or encourage further investing. Examples include : " Matching '' Providing their own funds to the victims portfolio to help the victim reach an ( arbitrary ) investment goal. 
" Scarcity '' Stating that returns or investment opportunities are only available in a short time period. 


6. Taxes, Fees, and the End of the Scheme Once the victim is ready to withdrawal all their earnings, they will find their account frozen and an arbitrary requirement will arise, usually in the form of paying " taxes '' or " fees '' to unlock their funds. 

This is a trap : it is simply another method used by the scammers to try and convince victims to invest even more money. 

It can be a particularly devastating point in the scheme, as victims will often pay more money to unlock their funds than any amount they previously deposited. At this point, there is usually nothing the victim can do : the scammers will never unlock the funds and it's likely they have already withdrawn those funds into criminally controlled cryptocurrency wallets inaccessible to the victim. In the end, the victim loses all the money they deposited into the scheme. 

I have engaged a company, XXXX to assist me in contacting and corresponding with each crypto currency service company since XX/XX/2024 but have not received any responses from XXXX XXXX XXXX or Cyrpto.com

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation