Topic: How We Lost 2.7 Bitcoin to Scammers—and What We Learned (Read 45 times)
The scammers have now moved on. They will likely go to another one and try to scam him/her. If they will not anything from there they will find one more and they will never stop. And just like you there are many stories here. Only thing that you can do is to be careful for the next time. And you are begging for money which is not a good habit. Try to learn more how you can safe yourself from these kind of scams. I hope you will learn from your mistake and you will move on. I hope you will earn more in future. Best of luck.
Your story is not uncommon.
First they scam you, and then they scam you again when you try to recover your money.
Please don't beg for money.
First they scam you, and then they scam you again when you try to recover your money.
Please don't beg for money.
We are a married couple in our 30s, and we never thought we would fall victim to financial scams—not just once, but twice. We have always been cautious and responsible, yet our trust was manipulated in ways we never imagined. We are sharing our story not just to raise awareness but also in the hope of warning others before they fall into similar traps.
The Beginning of the Scam
Our ordeal began even before we got married. Like many others looking to invest in cryptocurrency, we came across an investment opportunity called Gorilla GPUs Live Mining. It seemed legitimate at first, and we decided to invest, hoping for positive returns. A seemingly innocent comment on a helpful YouTube video about a still-profitable Bitcoin mining site drew us in.
A live chat assistant (not a bot at the time) convinced us that renting multiple mining rigs in South Africa was the best option. He was even ready to supply us with videos of the advertised mining farm—which, as we later discovered, never existed. Everything seemed great initially. However, we soon realized that the platform was a complete scam. In a cruel twist, the website provider even gave us a falsified passport as supposed “verification,” only for us to later discover that it had been stolen from another person. We had been deceived, and our money was gone.
The Second Trap: A False Hope of Recovery
Heartbroken and desperate for justice, we searched for ways to recover our lost funds. That’s when we found a website called Broker Complaint Alert, which connected us with so-called “ethical hackers” known as iTechwares.
At first, iTechwares provided us with emotional support, speaking to us professionally and earning our trust. They reassured us that they had the skills and tools necessary to track down the scammers and recover our stolen Bitcoin.
After a few weeks, they even sent us a video showing their screen, claiming they had found the scammer’s wallet. They also provided a screenshot of an extraction software that would supposedly crack into the scammer’s wallet and retrieve our funds. Unfortunately, the software was real—but it was used to drain our own account instead.
They persuaded us to use their own wallet, where some artificial extraction took place. The wallets they suggested were Crypto Chase and Eres Wallet. At the time, we didn’t know they were the actual owners of these wallets. We set up a free account, and the extraction process supposedly started—but then stopped. They asked for a deposit to finalize it, claiming that the wallet needed additional “strength” to extract the funds from the external hardware wallet.
Since the wallet they provided wasn’t fully functional, we were skeptical and refused to send any more money. At this point, they played on our emotions, claiming they would find another solution but blaming us for complicating everything.
Initially, they promised recovery without charging us upfront. They instructed us to set up a regular, trusted CEX account with Blockchain.com. Then, they asked for one-time access to install an API for the extraction software. At the time, there were no funds in the account. We were told to change the password afterward, but they obviously had the keys.
The final trick was having us set up another wallet with Bitcoin.com, where the extracted funds were supposedly going to be deposited. The extraction started in the form of unconfirmed transactions, but again, it stopped after some time. They then requested a Bitcoin deposit into our own CEX account to “finalize the extraction.”
We made two deposits into this account, both of which were stolen. They even sent some funds themselves to help us meet the high deposit requirement, only to take them away quickly again.
As mentioned before, we started receiving unconfirmed transactions in the Bitcoin.com wallet, including our stolen deposits. The wallet balance even displayed an actual amount, making it seem spendable and legitimate. They assured us the transactions would be confirmed once the extraction was completed—which, of course, never happened.
To further manipulate us, they sent some confirmed transactions (bait) to the wallet with unconfirmed transactions, tempting us to deposit more Bitcoin to continue and finalize the extraction. They advised us to add this bait to the deposit, so we did—and they took it back from there.
When we refused to make any further deposits out of our own pocket, they claimed the Bitcoin was “tainted,” having been extracted from an external wallet, and that they needed a coin-mixing service to launder it. Conveniently, they pointed us to Eres Wallet again, claiming it was backed by the UK government.
We refused.
The scam continued with them offering a cross-chain transaction to ETH. They had us set up another wallet, then created a fake website (Blockchain Node Engine), instructing us to enter the mnemonic phrase of our new wallet to “pair it” and “reload the balance.” They then sent us fake ERC-20 tokens that looked like Bitcoin, even displaying the correct Bitcoin value. Finally, they requested an ETH deposit to finalize the cross-chain transaction.
At this point, we refused and went to the police.
Emotions Over Logic
We were in contact with iTechwares during a deeply personal time—our wedding and honeymoon. Their timing was no coincidence. With emotions running high, we desperately wanted to believe in their ability to help us. Slowly, they manipulated us into trusting them completely. In the end, we lost a total of 2.7 Bitcoin, believing it was the final step to reclaiming our stolen money.
Months passed. iTechwares kept delaying, giving us excuses about “software issues” preventing them from finalizing the case, as well as blaming us for not cooperating and refusing to continue while they were doing their best to help us. It finally hit us: we had been scammed again.
Seeking Justice: Another Roadblock
The person we spoke to used a Finnish VPN and presented themselves as Ms. Della Korhonen. The chat took place on Skype, which is encrypted. Determined to fight back, we contacted the police, who managed to identify two Nigerian scammers behind iTechwares. However, despite this information, neither the Nigerian police nor the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) were willing to cooperate.
Nigeria is infamous for corruption, and even if authorities did take action, we feared they might seize any recovered funds for themselves rather than returning them to us.
The Impact on Our Lives
This situation has been mentally and emotionally draining. Losing such a large sum of money is devastating, and knowing that justice may never be served makes it even worse. This experience however has reminded us that money is not the most important thing in life. It has taught us humility, gratitude, and a deeper appreciation for the love we share as husband and wife. While the pain of losing our savings still lingers, our bond has only grown stronger.
Why We Are Sharing This Story
We want to raise awareness so that others do not fall victim to the same tactics. If this could happen to two well-educated, cautious individuals, it can happen to anyone. Scammers prey on emotions, trust, and vulnerability, and they are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
We hope that by sharing our story, we can:
• Educate others about the dangers of online investment scams.
• Expose fraudulent “recovery services” that prey on scam victims.
• Encourage authorities to take these crimes more seriously.
• Remind people that no matter how much money is lost, love, faith, and resilience are far more valuable.
If anyone would like to support us, whether emotionally or financially, we would be deeply grateful. Any assistance would help us rebuild what we lost. If you feel inclined to support us, you can send Bitcoin to our wallet address: bc1ql3md7wx78yperycz75cf3f5qhm5t5rlvfe45ds. Any help, no matter how small, means the world to us.
The Beginning of the Scam
Our ordeal began even before we got married. Like many others looking to invest in cryptocurrency, we came across an investment opportunity called Gorilla GPUs Live Mining. It seemed legitimate at first, and we decided to invest, hoping for positive returns. A seemingly innocent comment on a helpful YouTube video about a still-profitable Bitcoin mining site drew us in.
A live chat assistant (not a bot at the time) convinced us that renting multiple mining rigs in South Africa was the best option. He was even ready to supply us with videos of the advertised mining farm—which, as we later discovered, never existed. Everything seemed great initially. However, we soon realized that the platform was a complete scam. In a cruel twist, the website provider even gave us a falsified passport as supposed “verification,” only for us to later discover that it had been stolen from another person. We had been deceived, and our money was gone.
The Second Trap: A False Hope of Recovery
Heartbroken and desperate for justice, we searched for ways to recover our lost funds. That’s when we found a website called Broker Complaint Alert, which connected us with so-called “ethical hackers” known as iTechwares.
At first, iTechwares provided us with emotional support, speaking to us professionally and earning our trust. They reassured us that they had the skills and tools necessary to track down the scammers and recover our stolen Bitcoin.
After a few weeks, they even sent us a video showing their screen, claiming they had found the scammer’s wallet. They also provided a screenshot of an extraction software that would supposedly crack into the scammer’s wallet and retrieve our funds. Unfortunately, the software was real—but it was used to drain our own account instead.
They persuaded us to use their own wallet, where some artificial extraction took place. The wallets they suggested were Crypto Chase and Eres Wallet. At the time, we didn’t know they were the actual owners of these wallets. We set up a free account, and the extraction process supposedly started—but then stopped. They asked for a deposit to finalize it, claiming that the wallet needed additional “strength” to extract the funds from the external hardware wallet.
Since the wallet they provided wasn’t fully functional, we were skeptical and refused to send any more money. At this point, they played on our emotions, claiming they would find another solution but blaming us for complicating everything.
Initially, they promised recovery without charging us upfront. They instructed us to set up a regular, trusted CEX account with Blockchain.com. Then, they asked for one-time access to install an API for the extraction software. At the time, there were no funds in the account. We were told to change the password afterward, but they obviously had the keys.
The final trick was having us set up another wallet with Bitcoin.com, where the extracted funds were supposedly going to be deposited. The extraction started in the form of unconfirmed transactions, but again, it stopped after some time. They then requested a Bitcoin deposit into our own CEX account to “finalize the extraction.”
We made two deposits into this account, both of which were stolen. They even sent some funds themselves to help us meet the high deposit requirement, only to take them away quickly again.
As mentioned before, we started receiving unconfirmed transactions in the Bitcoin.com wallet, including our stolen deposits. The wallet balance even displayed an actual amount, making it seem spendable and legitimate. They assured us the transactions would be confirmed once the extraction was completed—which, of course, never happened.
To further manipulate us, they sent some confirmed transactions (bait) to the wallet with unconfirmed transactions, tempting us to deposit more Bitcoin to continue and finalize the extraction. They advised us to add this bait to the deposit, so we did—and they took it back from there.
When we refused to make any further deposits out of our own pocket, they claimed the Bitcoin was “tainted,” having been extracted from an external wallet, and that they needed a coin-mixing service to launder it. Conveniently, they pointed us to Eres Wallet again, claiming it was backed by the UK government.
We refused.
The scam continued with them offering a cross-chain transaction to ETH. They had us set up another wallet, then created a fake website (Blockchain Node Engine), instructing us to enter the mnemonic phrase of our new wallet to “pair it” and “reload the balance.” They then sent us fake ERC-20 tokens that looked like Bitcoin, even displaying the correct Bitcoin value. Finally, they requested an ETH deposit to finalize the cross-chain transaction.
At this point, we refused and went to the police.
Emotions Over Logic
We were in contact with iTechwares during a deeply personal time—our wedding and honeymoon. Their timing was no coincidence. With emotions running high, we desperately wanted to believe in their ability to help us. Slowly, they manipulated us into trusting them completely. In the end, we lost a total of 2.7 Bitcoin, believing it was the final step to reclaiming our stolen money.
Months passed. iTechwares kept delaying, giving us excuses about “software issues” preventing them from finalizing the case, as well as blaming us for not cooperating and refusing to continue while they were doing their best to help us. It finally hit us: we had been scammed again.
Seeking Justice: Another Roadblock
The person we spoke to used a Finnish VPN and presented themselves as Ms. Della Korhonen. The chat took place on Skype, which is encrypted. Determined to fight back, we contacted the police, who managed to identify two Nigerian scammers behind iTechwares. However, despite this information, neither the Nigerian police nor the EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) were willing to cooperate.
Nigeria is infamous for corruption, and even if authorities did take action, we feared they might seize any recovered funds for themselves rather than returning them to us.
The Impact on Our Lives
This situation has been mentally and emotionally draining. Losing such a large sum of money is devastating, and knowing that justice may never be served makes it even worse. This experience however has reminded us that money is not the most important thing in life. It has taught us humility, gratitude, and a deeper appreciation for the love we share as husband and wife. While the pain of losing our savings still lingers, our bond has only grown stronger.
Why We Are Sharing This Story
We want to raise awareness so that others do not fall victim to the same tactics. If this could happen to two well-educated, cautious individuals, it can happen to anyone. Scammers prey on emotions, trust, and vulnerability, and they are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
We hope that by sharing our story, we can:
• Educate others about the dangers of online investment scams.
• Expose fraudulent “recovery services” that prey on scam victims.
• Encourage authorities to take these crimes more seriously.
• Remind people that no matter how much money is lost, love, faith, and resilience are far more valuable.
If anyone would like to support us, whether emotionally or financially, we would be deeply grateful. Any assistance would help us rebuild what we lost. If you feel inclined to support us, you can send Bitcoin to our wallet address: bc1ql3md7wx78yperycz75cf3f5qhm5t5rlvfe45ds. Any help, no matter how small, means the world to us.
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