I am going to be 25 soon. In February 2025, I was contacted by someone who expressed interest in my dog which i was posting on my Instagram account. We met online, and he told me he lived in a nearby city, about an hour or two from where I live. At that time, I owned a male dog, and he mentioned he had a female of the same breed. After a few weeks of texting, we began to form a friendship. He said he was on vacation in the U.S. but would return to Canada soon. I believed him, and our conversations continued smoothly. He suggested that once he returned, we could meet up and let our dogs play together in the park. We also discussed the idea of breeding our dogs.
Over time, our conversations expanded to various topics, and we began talking for hours every day. After a couple of weeks, he asked me about my job, and I reciprocated by asking about his work. He told me he didn’t have a 9-to-5 job and that he could afford to take vacations because of his successful investments in cryptocurrency. He even mentioned a particular cryptocurrency he believed would be the next Bitcoin. Although I had always been curious about investing in crypto, I didn’t know much about it and told him I wasn’t interested at the time. He didn’t seem to mind and continued talking about other things.
As time went on, he started sending me screenshots of his crypto investments and how rapidly they were growing. Eventually, I asked him to help me get started with investing, hoping to learn more about the standard cryptocurrencies. He spent hours guiding me through every step, and eventually, I made my first investment. He explained that his wealth came from trading cryptocurrencies, which had changed his life. He shared images of his trading journey, his supposed profits, and even screenshots of his bank account balances. He claimed he could help me make money too, as a friend.
At the time, I was struggling with personal problems and other financial needs. Although I had about $13,000 in my bank account and a perfect credit score of 790, I was constantly worried about my ability to manage my expenses and contribute more financially.
When he offered to help me invest, I thought this might be the solution to my financial problems. He explained that his trades were closely monitored by an advisor and were generally low-risk, with consistent profits. He suggested we use a platform he recommended, which, according to him, had fewer risks and better profits compared to others like Crypto.com.
The next day, I started trading with his guidance. He walked me through setting up an account, converting CAD to USD coins, and making my first trade. I began with a modest $100, which quickly grew to $250 after my first successful trade. I was excited and believed the profits were real. He advised me to reinvest my profits rather than withdraw them, and even added $500 to my account to help me reach the minimum for the next trade.
With each trade, my supposed profits grew. Over the course of a few weeks, my initial investments grew to over $50,000 USD. I felt confident because I believed I had complete control over my account, including the ability to withdraw funds whenever I wanted. But what I didn’t realize was that the profits he was showing me were fake, and I was unknowingly transferring my money into his personal wallet.
When I tried to withdraw my money, an error appeared, stating I needed to pay a $10,000 USD trading tax due to my high profits. I was shocked and desperate, and begged for help to pay the tax so I could access my funds. He refused to help further, saying he had done enough already and that I needed to handle this myself. He manipulated me into believing that the only way to get my money back was by taking out a loan to pay the tax. This wasn’t my idea at all—I was pushed into it by the scammer. In a panic, I took out a high-interest personal loan at a 46.9% rate, thinking I could pay it back once I withdrew my money. But after paying the tax, I was told I needed to pay even more fees. It was at this point that I realized I had been scammed.
The next morning, I was blocked, and all contact with him was cut off. My savings were gone, and I was left with a loan I could not afford. It’s been almost 3 months since the scam, and I’m still paying $550 a month toward that loan. Despite my best efforts to save and pay it off, it feels like a never-ending burden.
Looking for Advice: I’m reaching out to see if anyone has been through something similar and can offer advice or support. How have others recovered from scams like this? Did you take any legal action that helped? I’m especially looking for tips on managing the fallout, including how to tackle the high-interest loan and anything else I can do to clear this debt.
I haven’t come forward with this until now because, honestly, I was terrified. I lost all hope and was scared of what others would think of me. I still haven’t told my family about what happened, and only a few close friends know. If anyone has advice on how to cope with this, emotionally or financially, I would be so grateful.
