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Despite the fact that the internet has become an ideal space for dating and casual communication, specialists advise treating its opportunities with caution. The prospect of communicating anonymously has already been mastered by scammers—they can impersonate anyone to deprive their victim of a large sum of money.
Lately, random online meetings that lead to fraud through fake brokerage platforms have been gaining momentum. The number of investors deceived in this way is growing, which means it's time to discuss this scheme in our blog. We have compiled the experiences of the scam's victims and expert opinions on romance scams to fully describe the essence of this type of cybercrime and ways to counter it online.
The primary goal of the criminals when making acquaintances is to persuade the person to register and deposit funds on a broker's website, whose interests they actually represent. To do this, they create the illusion of friendly and romantic communication, gain their trust, and, up to a certain point, avoid starting a conversation about investments, discussing more neutral topics instead.
Later, they deceitfully lure the victim into registering and installing special software for conducting transactions. This software has no name; the scammers simply refer to it as a "terminal," since the concept of a "trading terminal" for online asset trading is familiar to many, even those far from investing.
Often, the future victim of a scam scheme receives a message on a dating site, in a messenger, or on a social network. The interlocutor (of the opposite sex) either openly offers communication or "accidentally" texts the wrong number but then initiates a trusting conversation. Remember, if you are a girl, you will be contacted by a charming, successful trader, and if you are a young man, by a sweet stranger.
After gaining trust, they invite the future investor to a particular project, demonstrating through their own example how one can earn money from trading assets. An important aspect is the presence of a third party—a relative or friend—who led this random acquaintance to financial independence. What follows is registration on the broker's website, the first deposit, and debut successful trades under the guidance of the new friends.
Meeting in messengers and social networks is not the only method of actively searching for future victims online. It also happens that a person is contacted in the same manner, for example, by fake employers or business coaches. They are united by one common goal—to attract the interlocutor to earning money through trading.
So, if you've landed on a website based on your virtual friend's recommendation and this friend is expecting you to register and deposit, it's time to critically evaluate their offer. Most fraudulent broker portals look very generic and share a number of similar features that repeat from one site to another:
Often, though not always, fraudulent trading platforms offer the use of a demo account. Another distinguishing feature of scammers' platforms is their payment method—they only accept payments from their victims in cryptocurrency, whereas the law typically requires client deposits to be held in special bank accounts.
Although there are many fake brokers that lure victims through romantic relationships, here are the names of some of them: Amz Tact, Qelmirys, Derctaos, Hosuleod, and many others.
So, hypothetically, a charming new contact appears in your list. According to their backstory, this person is from another country (this is important) and is either looking for a romantic partner or has supposedly messaged the future victim by "accident."
A dialogue begins, and the communication becomes more open, friendly, or with elements of flirtation. The interlocutor shows you their life: expensive restaurants, cars, clubs, and travels. They freely send voice and video messages, casually emphasizing their status and material wealth. In some cases, the criminal, or rather, the actor playing the role of the seducer, agrees to a voice call but avoids video calls.
After a week or more of active online communication and calls, the person mentions that they earn money from trading with the support of a relative/friend-analyst who advises on which asset trades will be most profitable at any given time. Later, a proposal follows to join them, open your own account, meet the relative, and start earning online. If you agree, you receive a link to the website, step-by-step instructions, a consultation with the relative, and all kinds of assistance with registration and depositing funds. Sometimes, the person is asked to start with a minimal sum, say 10,000 rubles, to understand how the system works and how profits are accrued. But later, the trader will be persuaded to increase the deposit and possibly even take out a loan to fund the account.
Next comes the simulation of successful trading: a growing account balance, profitable trades, and favorable forecasts. This entire performance practically forces the person to believe in the fairy tale and invest all their savings into trading. As a diversionary tactic, the trader might even be allowed to withdraw a small sum, as the scammers understand that with growing trust, the deposit will also increase.
With subsequent withdrawal attempts, difficulties will begin: for instance, the client's bank supposedly can't accept the payment, or a technical glitch prevents the cash-out. Simultaneously, service payments will be demanded. Meanwhile, the trades will more frequently become unprofitable. The rhetoric of the "kind relative," the new acquaintance, and the broker's representatives will change; instead of positive and friendly behavior, there will be threats, blackmail, and aggressive demands to top up the account. Specifically, for untimely top-ups, the criminals will threaten problems with the law and tax authorities, fines imposed by the bank, or the blocking of the trading account without the right to withdraw the remaining balance.
In the final stage of the scheme, it turns out that the withdrawal commission is roughly equal to the account balance, the trader themselves owes the platform for services rendered, and it becomes impossible to withdraw any money. At this point, the new acquaintances will disappear without a goodbye, prudently wiping the correspondence and content. In the end, you, as a victim of this elaborate scheme, will lose all the money you transferred to the scammers.
Initially, with the support of the new acquaintance's "relative," the trading goes well—by using a fake terminal, the trader is shown "profitable" trades and a small income. This is necessary to make the person completely relax, believe in the reality of what is happening, and deposit even more funds into their account.
There are cases described online where the broker allowed a small sum to be withdrawn at the initial stages—the only time victims of the fraud have a chance to get back at least a part of their funds. Later, the broker's employees and the "relative"-analyst themselves present arguments for keeping the maximum amount of money in the account:
A scheme involving "beneficiaries" is often used: the trader is forced to find a trusted person and take out a loan to transfer the borrowed funds to the client's account in the personal cabinet. Often in this scenario, the trusted person doesn't even know the purpose for which the loaned funds will be used.
Another way to extract additional tranches from the user is through service payments. Because the specific trading conditions are not specified anywhere, the company's employees have a loophole to demand that the trader top up their account to pay for alleged tax debts, conversion fees, account maintenance, and other charges. If the client refuses to pay, they are threatened with account blocking, penalty sanctions, fines, or problems with government authorities.
A withdrawal might be approved by the broker only if the trader agrees to process the payment through Manual Payments. This option requires additional and substantial expenses from the investor, often comparable to the amount requested for cash-out. But even paying for this option doesn't resolve the situation; the transaction remains unprocessed, and the staff of the fraudulent dealing center gain a new reason to demand payment for inexplicably appearing invoices.
And only when they are convinced that the client has either figured out the scam or has lost their ability to pay, they get rid of them by blocking the account or draining the deposit to zero. At the same time, the new acquaintances disappear from the victim's sight, and all correspondence and call histories are deleted.
It is often mentioned online that people receive a whole series of essentially identical messages within a short period (1-2 weeks). For example, a certain man might periodically get messages from Chinese women suggesting they get acquainted. They explain their interest in a stranger by a desire to visit his country and possibly meet in person. If you receive identical offers from different numbers, be careful—your contact details have likely been leaked, and "black brokers" are targeting you. It's better to either terminate such a dialogue and block the interlocutor.
If you are a regular on dating sites and public pages, make it a rule not to discuss your finances with strangers. Your wealth will strengthen the scammer's resolve to deprive you of your capital, while having debts and loans will give the scammer a compelling argument for registering in a "magical project" that will make you rich.
It's important to be critical of any information online—if you are sent photos of a carefree, wealthy life and told about earning money without effort, it's time to be cautious. Everyone knows that money doesn't grow on trees, so an offer to help you get rich might seem tempting, but it undoubtedly hides deception and fraud.
Although there are no fewer scams offline than online, it's better not to discuss personal topics, including finances, before meeting a person you like in real life. And of course, under no circumstances should you give personal data to strangers: passport photos, bank card details, or e-wallet information. It's even better not to share this information online with acquaintances, as their account could be hacked, and you, unknowingly, would hand over access to your money to cybercriminals yourself.
The scam scheme based on online acquaintances is becoming increasingly common, so it will most likely affect not just the trading industry. Soon, these dangerous encounters will likely migrate to the sphere of investment projects, financial pyramids, cryptocurrency scam sites, and more.
It's important to remember that often even acquaintances and close people, sometimes unknowingly, drag us into dubious projects, let alone a stranger from a dating site. Critically evaluate new interlocutors and remember: if you are offered unsolicited help, you are most likely just being set up for a scam.
The methods for gaining the trust of potential victims are constantly multiplying, so it's crucial to stay updated on current fraudulent schemes through our blog to be prepared for any turn of events. And of course, we recommend caring for the well-being of your circle—share this article on social networks or send it to people you want to protect from fraud.
