‘Don’t bother trying to get your money back’: The extraordinary text sent to a couple who quit their jobs and lost their life savings after falling for a VERY convincing scam
- Nick Yeomans and his wife Josie poured more than $40,000 into the business
- After they ran out of money to invest they were denied access to their account
- They received a text from the company on WhatsApp telling them it was a scam
An Australian couple who invested their life savings into a bitcoin scam were alerted to the fraud via text message.
Nick Yeomans and his wife Josie, from Canberra, gradually poured more than $40,000 into the scheme after an initial $1,400 investment tripled in just six months.
But when they ran out of money to ‘invest’ in the program, the profits stopped being returned to them.
They were denied access to their money and were unable to withdraw any of the cash they’d previously had no issues accessing, the ABC reported.
Nick Yeomans and his wife Josie, from Canberra, gradually poured more than $40,000 into the scheme after an initial investment tripled in a matter of months
The couple eventually sent an email pleading with the company to release their money, having taken out loans to keep on top of their mounting bills.
In return, they received a text on encrypted messaging service WhatsApp informing them the entire service was a scam.
‘Let me save you the stress, cus (sic.) you’ve been through a lot already. [It] is a scam. Everything and everyone involved are the same,’ it read.
‘Don’t bother about trying to get back your money. Just focus on getting money to take care of your family.’
The company then ceased all communication with the couple after the text exchange.
Mr Yeomans said he felt sick after reading the message and was unsure how they should go about getting their lost money back.
He had also encouraged family and friends to invest as well, with one family member sinking more than $20,000 into the scheme.
The couple received a text on encrypted messaging service WhatsApp informing them the entire service was a scam
The couple had both quit their jobs when the money initially started coming in and were behind in rent payments due to constantly needing to top up their account within the scam to access their money.
‘We’re left here with nothing, with no income, and with lots of debt, the debt has high interest. I thought “how are we going to get out of this?”‘ Mr Yeomans said.
Mr Yeomans said he was initially prepared for the opportunity to be a scam, but after seeing the returns and experiencing the customer service, his doubts faded.
‘In terms of energy, just putting so much into it. Having the energy to speak to you every day, let you know what’s going on, especially when nothing really is going on. It’s such an incredible amount of detail to go into,’ he said.
The business offers multiple tiers of investment in which the more money people pour into the company, the more they receive back.
The organisation claims to be run by a team of ‘trading experts who generate profits by buying and selling currencies, stocks, options and commodities on the foreign exchange market’.
A spokeswoman from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the scam had all the hallmarks of a Ponzi scheme.
The company likely paid the Yeomans’ dividends from other people’s investments for a period of time rather than investing the funds into Bitcoin at all.
The ACCC said they have not had any official complaints about the organisation.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the business for comment.
Mr Yeomans said he was initially prepared for the opportunity to be a scam, but after seeing the returns and experiencing the customer service, his doubts faded