Crypto News Today- LinkedIn Solicitation Leads Trader to $310K Loss on Dubious Exchange

Crypto News Today- LinkedIn Solicitation Results in Trader’s $310K Loss on Dubious Exchange

Crypto News-An investor reportedly lost $310,000 to an alleged fraudulent crypto trading platform, Ethfinance, after being introduced to it through an unsolicited LinkedIn connection request.

According to a consumer alert issued by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) Securities Division on June 13, the investor encountered Ethfinance via a random LinkedIn friend request. The investor transferred $310,000 from their DeFi wallet to the platform with the expectation of generating profits through cryptocurrency trading.

When the investor attempted to withdraw some of their initial principal and reported profits, they were informed that additional funds were required to complete the ‘smart contract’ before withdrawal could proceed.

The investor chose not to add more funds. Subsequently, they have been unable to withdraw any funds from their account, which is now locked, the DFI stated.

The regulator suspects the case may involve Advance Fee Fraud, although it emphasized that the allegations have yet to be verified.

Advance fee fraud typically involves promising victims large sums of money, products, or services in exchange for a small upfront payment. Once the payment is made, the scammer may continue to request additional fees for various reasons or simply vanish.

The investor became aware of the scam when the ‘CEO of Crypto Customer Service‘ on Telegram requested 25% of the profits as ‘taxes’ to facilitate the withdrawal process.

On June 13, the Washington DFI issued three additional alerts. Two alerts were related to purportedly fraudulent crypto exchanges, while the third pertained to a fraudulent investment management platform.

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