Exclusive: A Sydney woman says she has lost her life savings in a cryptocurrency scam, describing the ordeal as “the biggest mistake of my life”.
Freelance artist and designer Petrina Fuda said said she got involved with what she thought was a bitcoin investment company.
The 53-year-old said she had heard about people making money via bitcoin, so when a company contacted her she signed up.
Fuda was told she could double her investments, with one representative later even claiming he could make her up to $8000 in a month.
But Fuda says the company took her entire life savings, around $27,000, and in return she received no cryptocurrency.
Fuda now wants to warn others, saying the scammers “primed” her before moving in to steal her money.
“It was very cleverly done,” she told nine.com.au.
“Before I knew it they were in my bank accounts, they took every cent.
“When they started to corner me and took out the large sums from my bank I just went into shock.
“They just literally primed me and swooped in.
“It escalated before I was even aware of what was happening.”
The north shore mother said back in 2020 she initially agreed to invest $1000 in a company, which lists addresses in London’s financial hub, Canary Wharf and Cyprus.
“I thought I’d give it a little shot with a small investment,” Fuda said.
“There was a lot of people at the time investing in Bitcoin, they were saying it was the way of the future.”
Fuda handed over her driving licence details to the company, who she said she spoke a lot to over the phone which meant there was little paper trail.
But after transferring an initial $1000 she was quickly persuaded to add more and more cash to her account with the company paying it into various different banks.
“They were linked to multiple Australian banks, and it changed every time. My red flags should have gone off immediately,” she said.
She said she was drawn in because the fraudsters kept telling her she had to put in more money if she wanted to draw any of her ‘gains’ out.
“Every time I asked to get the money out there was another excuse,” she said.
“As soon as I started to say ‘before I invest anymore money, can I start to withdraw some of that?’ they said, ‘no, no, no, you haven’t met our requirements yet,” she said.
When she told them she didn’t have any more money they told her they’d lend her the cash, and then demanded she start to repay it.
She said the company put more and more of ‘their’ money into the investments and then said she was liable for it. She had given them her bank details and they later even transferred money out of her bank themselves, she claims.
When she asked for something in writing they sent her a contract with a demand for $25,000, which indicated if she didn’t pay she could face court, have her assets frozen or be reported for money laundering.
That was when Fuda finally realised something was wrong.
She said she asked for her money back but says they refused to give it to her.
She contacted her bank, Commonwealth, but after four months of investigating they told her they couldn’t get her money back, saying in a letter they believe she has been scammed.
“I just went into absolute shock and shutdown,” she said.
“Everyday I wake up and I just thank God to be alive, that’s what’s got me through the darkest hours.
“These guys are professional, they know the psyche of human beings and they play to it.
“It’s the biggest mistake of my life.”
Fuda said she has reported what happened to NSW Police, ID Care, Scamwatch and the FBI in the USA, and wants to warn other people not to fall for similar ploys.
“It’s not a ‘poor me’ story. I’ve been victimised but I’m not a victim. It’s to warning other people,” said Fuda.
The ordeal unfolded in 2020, but Fuda said it is only now she’s able to talk about what happened to warn others.
Nine.com.au has attempted to contact the company in question, whose website appears to be no longer working. Emails sent to the company bounced back.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has previously issued a warning about the company.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said it was unable to disclose if it had had any misconduct reports about the company Ms Fuda had dealt with.
But a spokeswoman warned that because many cryptoassets and other digital assets are commonly not considered to be financial products, platforms are not regulated by ASIC.
“You may not be protected if the platform fails or is hacked,” she said.
“Scammers trying to trick people into investing in fake opportunities to buy crypto is one of the most common types of crypto scams.
“Watch out for promises of very high returns, endorsement from celebrities or government agencies, people who contact you through social media, text messages or dating platforms, and multiple or constantly changing bank accounts used for transfers.”
Commonwealth Bank said it reviews fraud and scam cases “on a case-by-case basis.”
“However it is widely recognised that they are becoming increasingly sophisticated, which has prompted increased investment across the sector in resources, systems, data and intelligence to combat fraud and alert the Australian public to the risks the community faces,” a spokesman said.
“We encourage people to stay vigilant and utilise these tips for avoiding this particular type of scam: Stop: Trust your gut before authorising a payment to invest – if the returns/investment scheme seem too good to be true, they probably are. Check: Do your detailed due diligence before investing in any entity, and especially less known companies. Reject: Consult a trusted family member or friend as a sounding board before authorising a higher value “investment”.”
Commonwealth Bank has given Ms Fuda a goodwill payment after being contacted by nine.com.au
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