Anonymous User from Bronx, NY

October 6, 2021

Crypto Investment Scam - Social Media Friend's Hacked Account
Perpetrators used the following social media ID and payment platform to commit fraud: Instagram: @mariah10000_ (Leroy Maloney) WhatsApp#: 304-318-7527 CashApp: $AlexSimoneD87 Bitcoin account where funds were sent: 1FbMdMcG8ey8f4as5jsoN3zBPkgFVdqXTz As a result of this scam, I incurred a total loss of $5,682.00. I was also tricked into sending photos of my Driver's License via WhatsApp at some point before realizing this was a scam. Beginning on Sunday September 26 2021, I saw a post and video on my friends Instagram account, *********** explaining how she invested $500 into btcinvestmentmining.com and earned back $10,800 in 3hrs. I reached out to her via direct messaging asking if what she said was true, and she replied yes. She told me to follow @mariah10000_ for more info. At the time, I didn't know my friends account was already hacked and the perpetrator was posing as my friend. I reached out to @mariah10000_ inquiring about the investment. They explained to me the concept of Bitcoin mining and how lucrative the earnings and that I don't need much experience to begin trading. The next day I decided to try it since what was explained to me made some sense. I started off with investing $400. I was advised to create an account at btcinvestmentmining.com then to purchase Bitcoin though CashApp. Following the Bitcoin purchase, I was told to send it to a trade account at the website (1FbMdMcG8ey8f4as5jsoN3zBPkgFVdqXTz), which was supposedly my account #. After sending the funds, I received an email from [email protected] explaining that I needed to pay "verification fees" where I can select a silver, gold, or diamond package for $854.43, $1,232.50, and $1,632.63 respectively. Based on the level of verification I choose will determine how much funds I'm allowed to take in a single withdrawal. The perpetrator recommended I choose gold, and I complied. Again I was advised to purchase $1232.50 worth of Bitcoin through the CashApp and send it to the aforementioned trade account. I was then informed to make a withdrawal of all the profits I made through the fake website which was $26,000 at the time. On September 28th, I received an email from explaining now need to pay "mandatory taxes" which cannot be paid from the "profits" I earned. The amount they requested was $1,538.57. I was promised that I would receive the profits to my CashApp account the following day. I sent $1,550.00 through the same method. On September 29th, I received an email requesting $2500 to cover the "commissions fees" then I was promised I wouldn't have to pay any more money. I was told I would receive my profits within 30min. I paid the amount but did not receive any finds. The perpetrator reached out to me on September 30th and asked me to send a video explaining how well the program worked for me. I refused to do it because I found it not to be true. I was finally able to contact my friend (who's page was hacked) over the phone and she explained to that everything is a scam. She lost all access to her Instagram page and the perpetrators are using it to target others. Shortly after, I've unable to access my Instagram account ****************** as well. I discovered the perps changed my email (which was **************************) and removed my phone number from my account, which occurred on Sept 28, 2021. The email they changed it to is [email protected]. The perpetrators are now using my Instagram account to approach my friends. They posted a fake conversation between me and @mariah10000_ and a fake CashApp page with a balance of $10,841.95. As a result of the fraud content posted on my page, my family has also suffered monetary losses. My niece reached out through my page via direct messaging and she had a conversation with the hacker who was posing as me. She called me directly afterwards and I was able to explain what happened and not to give the fraudsters any more money. I haven't heard from the perpetrators since I confronted them about the scam. My friends and I have made several attempts to reach out to Instagram and Facebook to either recover or disable my hacked page and to report the perpetrators scam page but at the time of this writing, October 6, 2021, Facebook/Instagram as not responded. The accounts are still active. I’ve filed forms seeking help through help.instagram.com but no actions were taken. I’ve also sent numerous emails to [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] (corporate executive), and [email protected] (corporate executive), seeking assistance with my case and to warn them about the scam, but no one has responded. I even tired creating a Facebook business page and running an advertisement so that I’ll have the option of speaking to a live agent available to me; however, my efforts has been futile. I reported the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) via ReportFraud.ftc.gov on October 2, 2021. Further, I reported the fraud to the New York Attorney General Bureau of Consumer Frauds on October 4, 2021. I don’t know what else I can do.
Email: [email protected]
btcinvestmentmining.com/ - [domain information]