Crypto-scammer convinces victim to hand over thousands in cash at local coffee shop

A victim of a crypto-scammer lost an undisclosed amount of cash after they agreed to meet the suspect at a local coffee shop earlier this month.

The victim was a resident of San Marino, according to the San Marino Police Department.

They became the target of the scammer through Facebook, with the victim telling investigators they were contacted by an unknown woman who claimed to be a “risk management specialist” from Singapore.

The scammer convinced them to transfer thousands of dollars into an online crypto wallet, a software program that stores the private keys needed for accessing a user’s cryptocurrency.

The victim then withdrew the funds and discovered a “noticeable increase” in value, police said.

On Jan. 10, convinced that the scheme was legitimate, the victim then agreed to meet a “legitimate currency dealer” at a local coffee shop, bringing with them an even larger sum of cash.

They handed the cash to the scammer, assuming that the value would increase as before, but when they checked the account the following day, the funds had completely disappeared.

It’s a tactic known by federal investigators as a “Pig Butchering Scam,” in which a scammer meets a victim online, often through social media, and builds trust with them over time. The scammer convinces their victim to invest in cryptocurrency, showing them immediate results, and continuing to encourage them to deposit more and more before ending contact and making off with all of the victim’s funds.

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation is actively tracking cryptocurrency scams and continues to urge consumers to be diligent when discussing online funds, especially with someone you don’t know or have never met in person.

“As an investment, crypto is typically highly risky, and lacks the protections associated with other financial assets such as deposit insurance and the right to error resolution,” DFPI says on its website. “While there can be some security built into a blockchain system, consumers should be aware of the risks and potential for fraud.”

The FBI says Americans lost more than $5.6 billion in crypto scams in 2023.

To learn more about cryptocurrency scams, or to report if you’ve fallen victim to one, click here.

The case of the victim in San Marino remains under investigation, police said.