[00:00:09] Bob: Had you heard of cryptocurrency before that?
[00:00:11] Mei Mei Soe: Before that I did not.
And the FTC says social media and crypto are a combustible combination.
Most of you have probably never heard of bitcoin or other cryptocurrency just a couple of years ago.
Now, crypto seems to be everywhere.
You probably remember those Superbowl crypto ads.
[00:01:53] Bob: Or you’ve seen a crypto ATM at a gas station or convenience store.
So today, you’re going to meet a crypto scam victim whose story starts on social media.
And thank you for having me today.
[00:02:51] Bob:Mei MeiSoe is a brave young woman.
She grew up in Burma and came to the US when she was 18 years old.
[00:03:00] Bob: How long have you lived in Tampa?
[00:03:02] Mei Mei Soe: I will say it’s about 12 years.
[00:03:11] Mei Mei Soe: I moved from New York.
[00:03:12] Bob: How old were you when you landed in New York?
[00:03:21] Bob: Wow.
That’s quite a journey.
[00:03:27] Bob: Yeah.
[00:03:28] Bob: Things haven’t been easy forMei Mei.
She spent a lot of her young adult life looking for a job that would support her simple dreams.
But a long term illness has left her with chronic nerve pain that flares up from time to time.
[00:04:05] Mei Mei Soe: That is correct.
I think like as a working professional, these days everyone just has LinkedIn.
It just become like that’s the way it is, so yep.
You connect on Linked In.
[00:04:18] Mei Mei Soe: That is correct.
So this one reach out to me as one of them, yeah.
[00:04:32] Bob:Mei Meigets a connection invitation from someone she doesn’t know.
And then for him, the same thing.
Yeah, I, I did that.
I allow him to connect.
[00:05:04] Bob: Do you remember any, you know, first impressions you had?
Is, was he good looking?
Just any, you know, like a first feeling you had about him.
It’s like more in suit.
That’s how, that’s the impression that he give me.
[00:05:28] Bob: The man says he’s an executive at a fitness company.
He called, it is pronounced, Li Yanjun.
Yeah, Yanjun Li, basically.
[00:05:53] Mei Mei Soe: He messaged me in English.
And then that’s how, yeah, I said, “Yes, I do.”
So that’s how we started talking in Chinese.
[00:06:09] Bob: Oh.
[00:06:10] Mei Mei Soe: Yeah.
[00:06:11] Bob: Yeah.
[00:06:15] Mei Mei Soe: Oh, yes.
[00:06:16] Bob: At first the connection isn’t really typical of LinkedIn.
But I let him know that I am not interested.
I told him that I am here on uh, LinkedIn as for professional networking.
It’s not for, I’m not interested in that.
And that at that time I was in a committed relationship, so I let him know.
Right away, he seems very kind.
[00:07:38] Bob: Soon, Yanjun invitesMei Mei to take their friendly chat to a different tool.
So we started talking on Whatsapp.
[00:07:56] Bob: Hmm, okay.
Let’s move to Line.
So that’s how we talked.
So every day basically I am suffering from pain.
[00:08:57] Bob: A little side business, well that would bring in some extra cash.
And then Yangun suggests investing in crypto.
[00:09:13] Bob: Had you heard of cryptocurrency before that?
[00:09:16] Mei Mei Soe: Before that I did not.
So he was telling me that you could have a go at invest, buy the cryptocurrency through crypto.com.
Which I did the research and I know that it is legit.
So yeah, that’s how he asked me to start.
[00:09:46] Bob: So and you started with how much money?
[00:09:48] Mei Mei Soe: It was about $400, I believe.
But Yanjun promises to be her guide.
So,Mei Meitakes the leap.
Now she holds cryptocurrency.
But there’s another step she must take to start making money, Yanjun says.
She must move that digital money into another platform to invest it.
She calls her cellphone company.
And then, they would say that, oh, they told me that yes, it is okay.
So with Yanjun virtually holding her hand,Mei Meitakes that leap too, and right away, bingo!
Her little investment in digital currency seems to pay off big time.
So he asked me to withdraw that to crypto.com, then to my bank.
He said, just like his uh Christmas present to me.
So yeah, I did that, and then I did get the money back in my bank account.
[00:11:30] Bob: And, and how much was that at that point?
[00:11:32] Mei Mei Soe: It was a thousand.
It was a thousand, yep.
[00:11:35] Bob: So you moved from 400 to 1,000 dollars in a week or so.
[00:11:43] Bob: Wow.
I see it that way, you know, at that time.
[00:11:50] Bob: And, and you actually had the thousand dollars in your own bank account.
[00:11:53] Mei Mei Soe: Yes, I get it back.
All those TV ads must be real.
[00:12:06] Mei Mei Soe: Yep, and because like for me it’s like …
I hate to say that, but my life is pretty tough.
[00:12:33] Bob: So her skepticism overcome,Mei Meijumps into crypto with both feet.
And then December 25 was 3,000.
[00:12:53] Bob: Okay.
[00:12:55] Mei Mei Soe: Yeah.
[00:12:56] Bob: Um, and what happened to the $3,000?
Did that grow quickly too?
[00:12:59] Mei Mei Soe: Yes, it grow quickly too.
[00:13:01] Bob: Wow, okay.
So, so when was your next deposit?
[00:13:05] Mei Mei Soe: The next deposit was on December 27, was 10,000.
[00:13:09] Bob: Oh my gosh.
So you went from 400 to 3,000 to 10,000.
[00:13:13] Mei Mei Soe: Yes.
[00:13:20] Mei Mei Soe: That’s what I see, yep.
[00:13:21] Bob: SoMei Meiallows herself to dream a little bit more.
And she ups the ante on her crypto investment.
[00:13:55] Mei Mei Soe: On, on January 3rd, is 35,000.
And then January 11 was 45,000.
Actually the biggest one was on January 20th.
Um, where was that money coming from?
[00:14:46] Mei Mei Soe: Yes.
[00:14:47] Bob: Yeah, so you’re trying to make it do something.
[00:15:23] Bob: So you started, how, how much did you borrow?
[00:15:26] Mei Mei Soe: I think the total is about 150,000.
[00:15:36] Mei Mei Soe: Correct.
But that’s okay because her crypto account shows she now has about $650,000 in it.
And then things go south … fast.
I see it, I have the screenshot.
[00:16:53] Bob: And then, just a few days later, the site is completely gone.
She sends frantic emails to Yanjun, and well, he’s gone too.
Not too long after, an awful message appears on that crypto website.
You should close this page."
[00:17:18] Bob: Wow.
The site is gone.
Yanjun, whoever he or they is, seems to be gone too.
And so is all ofMei Mei’smoney.
All her life savings, and an even bigger bank loan.
Because I, all my money is gone, completely my 110,000 is gone.
Nothing I can do.
She has absolutely no way to pay it back.
So she has to ruin her perfect credit rating and declare bankruptcy.
Of course, it’s much more than her credit that is ruined.
Remember when all this started, she was looking for a new job.
‘Cause I have to tell, you know.
[00:18:56] Bob: That must have felt terrible.
I think, yeah, this, this is the only way for me to start over.
[00:19:20] Bob: That’s the only wayMei Meican start over by declaring bankruptcy.
So maybe fortune favors the brave isn’t exactly the best advice when considering an investment.
I asked him about what happened toMei Mei.
And of course that just draws more people uh, more people in.
[00:20:26] Bob: Cryptocurrency is tailormade for criminals, Lee said.
You know, furthermore, they’re irreversible.
[00:22:10] Bob: A perfect payment mechanism for people who want to do bad things?
There are three kinds of crypto crime scams, Lee says.
You know, ransomware predates cryptocurrency.
So these are new types of crimes that only cryptocurrency facilitates.
And here I’m talking about um, you know hacks at cryptocurrency exchanges.
Meanwhile, they created a fake website which made it look like her crypto was growing.
But to make this scam that much more persuasive, they initially gave her real money.
Her $400 did actually become $1000 in a few days.
That risky cash advance, if you will, was worth it to the criminals.
Plus, criminal schemes involving fake crypto can be very, very sophisticated, Lee says.
[00:25:58] Bob: Really, really hard.
At some point darn near impossible.
So for starters, Lee warns, consumers should be very, very, very suspicious of crypto transactions.
I don’t care what the asset class is, right.
This applies universally, not just to cryptocurrency, but it especially applies to cryptocurrency.
And so there’ll be other uh, other people that will have some horror stories to tell.
[00:27:30] Bob: And there’s no foolproof way.
That’s really critical to remember as we continue with our discussion of cryptocurrency.
One, only scammers will demand payment in cryptocurrency.
Two, only scammers will guarantee profits or big returns.
And three, never mix online dating and investment advice.
She just landed a new job.
[00:28:27] Mei Mei Soe: That is correct.
I just uh, I just accept the job offer, yeah, from my dream company.
I can start over again.
Yes, I can.
[00:28:45] Bob:Mei Meican start over again.
Still, stolen from her was a lifetime of earnings and savings, and a lot more.
[00:28:55] Bob: So this is 20, 25 years of earnings and savings, right?
[00:29:00] Mei Mei Soe: Yes.
And like all those years of hurting, save the money, you know.
I will fly again.
I will fly higher this time.
[00:29:37] Bob: A bird with a broken wing who will fly higher this time.
She wants to help others avoid what happened to her.
We should credit CNBC television for airingMei Mei’sstory first.
You know, the way they talk at you is like they play psychology very well.
And recently, we should tell you the FBI has issued a specific warning about LinkedIn.
For its part, LinkedIn says it is hard at work trying to protect users.
Still those systems are hardly foolproof.Mei Meiwould tell you that.
There are a few other thingsMei Meiwants you to know.
Like they start to talk to you first and see if they can get you like on romance site.
[00:31:49] Bob: And what doesMei Meimost want you listeners to remember?
[00:31:52] Mei Mei Soe: I hate to say this, but just don’t trust anybody.
I just want to tell people like, never give up.
And then we just have to keep fighting.
Because for me, I tell myself, I will get better.
Back up again, I will fight until I cannot.
I told myself, I will show you how hard it is to knock me down.
Yeah, this is my mentality for life.
Call the AARP Fraud Watch connection Helpline at 877-908-3360.
Their trained fraud specialists can provide you with free support and guidance on what to do next.
Be sure to find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
For AARP’s The Perfect Scam, I’m Bob Sullivan.
END OF TRANSCRIPT
The first part of our special report delves into one cryptocurrency scam.
Mei Mei, who is looking for her dream job, starts building her professional web connection on LinkedIn.
