49 year old man extorted out of over 40,000 euros

Police on Thursday urged members of the public to be vigilant with regard to their online transactions after a 49-year-old man reported he was scammed out of over €40,000 after receiving advice on social media from a person he did not know on how to invest in cryptocurrency.

According to the police, the 49-year-old, who lives in Limassol, reported that, after receiving advice online from a woman he did not know, he invested €50,500 in cryptocurrency, most of which, he was not able to withdraw later, resulting in him losing €44,500.

After the woman convinced him he could make a profit out of this, the complainant said, according to the police, he deposited between June 9 and July 25, €50,500 to a cryptocurrency exchange site and then, he transferred the portfolio to a cryptocurrency application on the woman’s advice.

He was able a few days later to withdraw €6,000 but when he tried to do the same on July 31, he was asked by the application to pay VAT and some other charges. The complainant did not pay and reported the case to the Limassol CID after suspecting it was a scam, since he was unable to withdraw any of the money he had deposited, while he lost contact with the woman who had urged him to use the application.

Due to this new incident of suspected online fraud, Police urge members of the public to be “especially careful.”

Police advise that in the event individuals receive a suspicious message or request, it is recommended that they contact the person who sent them the message for confirmation in a different way, while, in the event, they have taken any of the actions indicated to them, it is recommended to immediately check and change the access code to their accounts.

If they find something suspicious, police said, they are urged to inform the Force immediately.