Topic: Getting Scammed: Go to Police or Cut Losses and Move On? (Read 3452 times)
I don't think that even police will be able to help you in that case. Bitcoin is still not known widely and even if you have filed a charge against them, the case will have no progress because I believe that the laws that involving crypto is still in a discussions stage so it's better to ignore it for now.
Someone in Europe messaged me through the Abra App to buy BTC. He sent me a pic of the money with the date and my name in the picture as proof. After he reassured me we could make the transaction in a bank, I told him I could only go to Europe for a 50% fee. He agreed.
Since Abra is KYC compliant I assumed making a transaction over $10k would be OK.
Then when I arrived, he told me to meet with his "brother", as he knew more about BTC.
3 guys met me at my hotel lobby and dismissed the idea of taking all the money to the bank and said that the bank would create a lot of problems walking in with a lot of cash.
With a few bills they asked me to take randomly from the cash, I walked in a FX exchange with 1 guy (while the other 2 were waiting in their car with the rest of the cash) to verify the bills were indeed valid.
We then went back to my hotel lobby and I sent the BTC to his blockchain.info wallet address (he said he wanted to use his Blockchain wallet and not Abra and I figured I could just fill out the Form 8300 later instead) and then they gave me the bag of cash.
Later in my hotel room I discovered that the cash had been swapped out for fake money (perhaps in their car at the FX exchange). FYI I don't have a lot of street smart.
If I go to the police could I get AML charges on me? Especially since I haven't filled out the 8300 form yet. And I just found out here in Italy the legal transaction sizes without ID is very small (like 3k). Lastly all I have is phone numbers (which could be disposable) and possibly security cam footage from my hotel.
Thanks
Since Abra is KYC compliant I assumed making a transaction over $10k would be OK.
Then when I arrived, he told me to meet with his "brother", as he knew more about BTC.
3 guys met me at my hotel lobby and dismissed the idea of taking all the money to the bank and said that the bank would create a lot of problems walking in with a lot of cash.
With a few bills they asked me to take randomly from the cash, I walked in a FX exchange with 1 guy (while the other 2 were waiting in their car with the rest of the cash) to verify the bills were indeed valid.
We then went back to my hotel lobby and I sent the BTC to his blockchain.info wallet address (he said he wanted to use his Blockchain wallet and not Abra and I figured I could just fill out the Form 8300 later instead) and then they gave me the bag of cash.
Later in my hotel room I discovered that the cash had been swapped out for fake money (perhaps in their car at the FX exchange). FYI I don't have a lot of street smart.
If I go to the police could I get AML charges on me? Especially since I haven't filled out the 8300 form yet. And I just found out here in Italy the legal transaction sizes without ID is very small (like 3k). Lastly all I have is phone numbers (which could be disposable) and possibly security cam footage from my hotel.
Thanks
First of all , if you're not street smart , then you need to be street smart now . This is not the way blockchain works . I am pretty sure you are new to the world of blockchain that is why you put your trust on someone who is a total stranger . In this case , i would highly recommend you to cut the losses and move on . There is no way you can get your money back until and unless you find that man who stole it from you ( which is practically not possible in case of theft ) .
You can get trapped in a foreign land for money laundering or illegal use of money if you complaint about this to police . Because look , the amount is highly suspect-able for the law .
I think you got your life lesson now , you wouldn't fall for such bait in the future .
I know this is a bad suggestion but I think you just need to forget it. Just be careful next time because we still need to go to mass adoption so our government can pass a bill that will protect our cryptocurrency rights and sue
crypto criminals.
I am sure that if the government decides to legalize the use of cryptocurrencies it will bring more harm and losses than cases of theft of coins are scams. I use bitcoin because they don't trust their government. It is only natural that I didn't trust law enforcement agencies which serve the government. I personally ensure their safety and bear responsibility for it. crypto criminals.
I know this is a bad suggestion but I think you just need to forget it. Just be careful next time because we still need to go to mass adoption so our government can pass a bill that will protect our cryptocurrency rights and sue
crypto criminals.
crypto criminals.
If government already legalize bitcoin, you can ask the cyber police to after them but most government still not legalize bitcoin because it can be use for criminal activity.
My suggestion especially in crypto world : TRUST NO ONE !
I know this is a bad suggestion but I think you just need to forget it. Just be careful next time because we still need to go to mass adoption so our government can pass a bill that will protect our cryptocurrency rights and sue
crypto criminals.
crypto criminals.
If it's happen on my country, I'm afraid that police can't do anything because bitcoin still not being legalized at my place.
So when you decide to invest bitcoin , it means that you're aware the risk and it's all your responsible for your own bitcoin !
In my country the police are not involved in such crimes even if it is Fiat. All banking transactions is too classified. It is easier to refuse to help to say that the money lost in the unknown direction than to admit to the register of transactions by unauthorized persons. Suddenly happen to find transactions of politicians. Bitcoin transactions even more difficult. Finding cheaters no chance. Don't waste time. So when you decide to invest bitcoin , it means that you're aware the risk and it's all your responsible for your own bitcoin !
Well, you have a good point right there. But just so you know, it is not always about money. Sometimes it pays to do the right thing to make a difference. If we all think the same way as you do, and in effect we are always complacent and forgiving about the wrongful deed of others, perhaps, we make our society always prone to said abuses because these criminals always go unpunished. You are therefore creating a stigma that we should not waste time on evils that are rampant in our society IF WE HAVE MONEY instead of standing up for yourself and going after the abuser to teach the society a lesson that will stand for generation to generation.
Hmm do you really what to go to the hassle of expaling to police what the hell you were doing flying into there county to sell 10k worth of bitcoin undeclared .Like someone said previous they might try to charge you with money laundering tax evasion ..You have to ask yourself do you really what law enforcement asking you how much bitcoin you have and what taxes you been paying on it ?
So my opoinio if this was your last 10k and all the money you have then yes go to the police but you 100k /millions worth of bitcoin still on you it not worth the hassle .Take it as a expensive lesson
So my opoinio if this was your last 10k and all the money you have then yes go to the police but you 100k /millions worth of bitcoin still on you it not worth the hassle .Take it as a expensive lesson
If it's happen on my country, I'm afraid that police can't do anything because bitcoin still not being legalized at my place.
Bitcoin not being legalized has no meaning in this case. If it concerns theft, or getting scammed, the deed remains the same as if it would have happened with fiat. It all depends on how much evidence you have access to.If there is no evidence at all, even with fiat you'll be left aside with nothing. In the last years there has been so much scamming going on (not just referring to crypto), that people don't report things anymore if it's a small amount.
All due to the lack of interest from the side of the authorities. That's why in online marketplaces people stick to paying with PayPal and then through the option goods and services, which gives them a piece of mind.
At least PayPal does something well in this regard.
If it's happen on my country, I'm afraid that police can't do anything because bitcoin still not being legalized at my place.
So when you decide to invest bitcoin , it means that you're aware the risk and it's all your responsible for your own bitcoin !
So when you decide to invest bitcoin , it means that you're aware the risk and it's all your responsible for your own bitcoin !
Nah. I wouldn't go to the police mate, just move on because its really hard to prove anything unless you get their real names. Heck you are even lucky that they didn't do anything stupid to you. Its really hard to trust anyone today, specially with the huge amount of money they got from you. Just deal with it and let this be a lessons moving forward. In our country, this is just a common modus being pull through by a lot of those bad guys and its not easily not to fall for this trap either because they have a sweet tongue and you will really fall for them and believe they everything they say its true until you found out that you have been duped.
With this kind of scenario just to be safe just cut your losses and move on, it will be more risky
if you will go to the police and inform them on what happened to you specially if you are from
foreign land and as you said there is a limit for cash transactions from that country.
Just take it as a lesson so that in the future you are not going to commit the same mistake and
thank you for sharing it on this forum at least other members would be aware of that king of MO for scamming.
if you will go to the police and inform them on what happened to you specially if you are from
foreign land and as you said there is a limit for cash transactions from that country.
Just take it as a lesson so that in the future you are not going to commit the same mistake and
thank you for sharing it on this forum at least other members would be aware of that king of MO for scamming.
If you experience scam i think move on but if there's a way to retrieve your items or money then do it.First to avoid scam here you need to search if the person or the site is already trusted but if you have no choice so take the risk.There's a lot of trusted person here or site so i think taking the risk is an option only so i think do the safe like communicate in trusted person here
i think when you get scammed it's better to go to the authorities, because by doin this you can help the authorities identify the online scammers and that will make their job more easier, not only that you helped youself but also you helped your community making the world a better place,
My opinion is that doing it is useless. The police will not even look for cheaters. Until bitcoin is not recognized currency it will be very difficult to prove in court that this asset has value. It seems to me that it makes no sense to waste time going to the police. Make conclusions for themselves not to repeat such mistakes in the future and move on.
i think when you get scammed it's better to go to the authorities, because by doin this you can help the authorities identify the online scammers and that will make their job more easier, not only that you helped youself but also you helped your community making the world a better place,
Just due to the nature of this transaction, you should cut your loss. You won't have much luck trying to explain your situation.technical details to the police without bring yourself some suspicion.
Someone in Europe messaged me through the Abra App to buy BTC. He sent me a pic of the money with the date and my name in the picture as proof. After he reassured me we could make the transaction in a bank, I told him I could only go to Europe for a 50% fee. He agreed.
Since Abra is KYC compliant I assumed making a transaction over $10k would be OK.
Then when I arrived, he told me to meet with his "brother", as he knew more about BTC.
3 guys met me at my hotel lobby and dismissed the idea of taking all the money to the bank and said that the bank would create a lot of problems walking in with a lot of cash.
With a few bills they asked me to take randomly from the cash, I walked in a FX exchange with 1 guy (while the other 2 were waiting in their car with the rest of the cash) to verify the bills were indeed valid.
We then went back to my hotel lobby and I sent the BTC to his blockchain.info wallet address (he said he wanted to use his Blockchain wallet and not Abra and I figured I could just fill out the Form 8300 later instead) and then they gave me the bag of cash.
Later in my hotel room I discovered that the cash had been swapped out for fake money (perhaps in their car at the FX exchange). FYI I don't have a lot of street smart.
If I go to the police could I get AML charges on me? Especially since I haven't filled out the 8300 form yet. And I just found out here in Italy the legal transaction sizes without ID is very small (like 3k). Lastly all I have is phone numbers (which could be disposable) and possibly security cam footage from my hotel.
Thanks
Since Abra is KYC compliant I assumed making a transaction over $10k would be OK.
Then when I arrived, he told me to meet with his "brother", as he knew more about BTC.
3 guys met me at my hotel lobby and dismissed the idea of taking all the money to the bank and said that the bank would create a lot of problems walking in with a lot of cash.
With a few bills they asked me to take randomly from the cash, I walked in a FX exchange with 1 guy (while the other 2 were waiting in their car with the rest of the cash) to verify the bills were indeed valid.
We then went back to my hotel lobby and I sent the BTC to his blockchain.info wallet address (he said he wanted to use his Blockchain wallet and not Abra and I figured I could just fill out the Form 8300 later instead) and then they gave me the bag of cash.
Later in my hotel room I discovered that the cash had been swapped out for fake money (perhaps in their car at the FX exchange). FYI I don't have a lot of street smart.
If I go to the police could I get AML charges on me? Especially since I haven't filled out the 8300 form yet. And I just found out here in Italy the legal transaction sizes without ID is very small (like 3k). Lastly all I have is phone numbers (which could be disposable) and possibly security cam footage from my hotel.
Thanks
The only outcomes that I foresee here are either the police do nothing, or they go after you for any of a myriad of obscure laws they like to use to hassle crypto people. Cut your loses and move on
It is 100% fraud. No matter the government recognizes bitcoins or not you cheated. Under the guise of the money you give the paper. It's a Scam in any country. I think you definitely need to go to the police. Now on the streets of many cameras and possible fraud can be tracked. Proceed and be careful next time.
you will never get your money back,forget about it and move on
you can report the scammers to the police,just to try and make this world a better place
do not expect anything to come out of this,there will be nothing bad for you,you didn't commit any crime
as long as trading bitcoins is not illegal there
you can report the scammers to the police,just to try and make this world a better place
do not expect anything to come out of this,there will be nothing bad for you,you didn't commit any crime
as long as trading bitcoins is not illegal there
As far as I know trading Bitcoins is not illegal anywhere in the European Union. And you can't say that he will never get his money back. The chances are low, but if he goes to the cops, then there is at least 20%-30% chance that he will get his coins back.
Maybe what he's asking is, if it's legal for a foreigner to transact with more than 10 grand.
It is clearly a scam seems that you had a deal for 100 grand worth of bitcoin since the cash should be placed inside a bag. 10 grand is just 1 bundle of $100 bills and no need to put it inside a bag.
If you really lost a lot of coins and it is legal in Europe for this trade then better get the cops and try to have it resolved. That is a huge amount that you lost. As you said CCTV on the hotel will be useful. Those criminals might victimized other people in the future.
Move on. You learned your lesson and you will just waste your time and expenses if you continue chasing them. It won't be long before they get jailed because I know that they will still operate these schemes. Someone will make them pay.
Jump to: