Fast Returns to Financial Ruin: Caroline’s crypto investment scam

Crypto scams are one of the fastest growing forms of financial crime: with the hype around cryptocurrency putting people at risk of being targeted by conmen and fraudsters who promise them high-value, instant returns.

Caroline’s story of a crypto scam begins with a Youtube ad promoting crypto investments. Her husband sees this as a great opportunity: as pensioners they could always do with extra money while also having some savings set aside which they could use to make an investment. 

What follows is a truly devastating story of exploitation, pressure selling tactics and psychological manipulation. 

Caroline and her husband James* have bravely decided to share the details of their horrifying experience – to try and raise awareness about crypto scammers. 

This is their story…

Our story begins with my husband seeing an advertisement on Youtube that mentioned making money from crypto trading. 

I was initially a little skeptical but my husband, James, was really sold on the idea and decided that we should go for it. I said, well if you want to try go ahead but I don’t want anything to do with it. 

My husband phoned the number given and a female receptionist took his phone number. She added, ‘in future make sure you speak to the broker not me.’ Very soon after, a ‘broker’ by the name of Martin Hudson contacted my husband James. Upon his request, James sent an “investment” of £250 to an account that he was told belonged to an associate of a company called Core Invest, a crypto investment platform, using his debit card. 

Even before anything had happened, I can now see that things were already a little odd: James was unable to phone Mr Hudson but had to send him a message by email asking him to phone him. 

A couple of weeks went by and then James received a phone call from Mr Hudson. He said he was delighted to share that we had made £6,000 from the initial investment. He even provided us with graphs apparently showing our investment and its returns. 

Hudson said that £6,000 was the maximum we could make at this level. If we wanted to make more we would have to join the “silver level” which would cost another £1,100. My husband duly paid the money and was soon told that his winnings in crypto rose to £22,000. 

“Mr Hudson assured us that, as well as the crypto winnings, all of the payments to “release” them would be refunded to us…”

This is when N26 came into things. James was told that in order to release this money to us we had to pay “tax” of £3,850 to N26 – an online banking service for cryptocurrency investments. We were given an account number and told that our payment had to reach it within 48 hours – and if it didn’t, we would have to send that amount again. 

At this point you must be thinking why oh why did we send this money! It may seem obvious now, but at the time, Mr Hudson assured us that, as well as the crypto winnings, all of the payments to “release” them would be refunded to us. He explained that N26 needed to run their own checks to make sure James was not laundering money. (Writing this now, I think how very stupid we were to not question this further). 

While he had not provided us with a contact phone number nor a website, the man who called himself Martin Hudson was phoning my husband every day, always from a different phone number, pressing him to send the £3,850. 

This would be the third time that we would be sending large amounts of money and I was beginning to feel uneasy and suspicious. 

At this point I told my husband to get Hudson to provide his broker credentials. He sent some rubbish. My husband said he doubted I would understand it, he was right. 

I had tried to find him through Google and the FCA but was never able to find anything about him. All I knew was that he is German and he says he uses Core Invest. He also said that the bank he used was in Switzerland. 

“While I had my doubts I also thought it must be genuine if a legitimate bank is involved…”

We contacted the police and they came round and took a statement. We also contacted Action Fraud, filling in their online form. However, neither the police nor the fraud people said that they had found anything untoward. 

We were advised not to send any more money, but my husband did not want to stop – he felt the fact that they had not found anything wrong was a sign that everything was fine and we should be able to release our investments. 

What made the whole thing seem genuine was the fact that we were receiving requests for payments from what we thought was a legitimate bank – N26 financial monitoring. A Google search shows that N26 are real. The emails we were receiving from them were asking us to complete various administrative tasks and provide documents so that they could verify our identities.

The fact that we were getting messages from what seemed like a real bank made my husband even more sure that this was a trustworthy investment scheme. While I had my doubts, I also thought it must be genuine if a legitimate bank is involved. 

To be clear, after the initial two payments of £250 and then £1,100, James never sent any other investment to Core Invest. All the money being sent was to N26 – to “release” our investment returns. 

“[I]f it was the bank’s mistake, and not ours, why should we be sending them even more money!” 

The first time N26 had asked for money to cover the crypto ‘wins’, it had to be there in 48 hours. We weren’t able to make the payment in time, so we were told that we had to send the money again.

My husband decided that we had to pay this money, which we did: another £3,850. This time N26 said that they had received the payment but unfortunately the computer had given my husband two accounts and there was nothing they could do about it – so we would have to pay again!

Martin Hudson then contacts us and confirms this story, that somehow N26 had given us two accounts in error and we had to send another £3850 to cover the second account. 

I went loopy! I was screaming at James, telling him that if it was the bank’s mistake, and not ours, why should we be sending them even more money!

“[T]o make the next payments we would have to take out a bank loan.” 

When it comes to our finances, I am the one who has to deal with all the bills and do any writing as necessary, because James is unable to do these things. We did have some left in our emergency funds, but in order to make the next payments we would have to take out a bank loan. 

I didn’t know who to turn to but reached out to Resolver — airing my doubts and asking for advice. I was advised by Gillie and Katie that the situation I was describing had all the hallmarks of a scam. They told me that my uneasiness was entirely justified and I should immediately cease sending money to this person. I was also sent some articles to read and online resources on identifying cryptocurrency scams. 

While the advice I was being given resonated with my gut feelings, my husband was convinced that the investment scheme was genuine and I felt that I had no choice but to go along with his wishes.

Even though I was extremely sceptical, I was unable to agree to the request of staff at Resolver that I immediately cease the transfer of funds and report the fraud to the police and my bank. I told Gillie and Katie at Resolver that if something further happened that proved beyond a doubt that it was a scam I would get back in touch.

“My husband was so sure that it was real… I suppose that I also really wanted to believe that it would be ok.” 

At the same time that I was reaching out to Resolver, and being told that we were being scammed, my husband was sending documents to N26 so his identity could be verified.

My husband was so sure that it was real and I just didn’t feel able to stand up to him. He is stubborn but I suppose that I also really wanted to believe that it would be ok.

Following the advice of Resolver, I did send an email to N26 explaining the situation and asking for assurances that this was all legitimate. This must have gone to an official channel as they replied and said they needed our account number. That was when we realised that we had never been given one. My husband asked Hudson about it, but he did not really give James an answer.

This is what I was up against with my husband – he just takes everything as being ok. Unfortunately we both had our heads in the sand and did not take action on this clear confirmation from the actual N26 that something suspicious was going on. 

In his conversations with my husband, Martin Hudson, like the emails from N26, was insistent and persuasive. He kept calling James and promising this was the last payment: once received the file would be closed and we would receive our crypto gains, plus the money we had sent, at this point totalling £12,000. 

“[The bank manager] told him it was a scam… But he did not believe her.” 

After two or three weeks we decided to send the payment again. Desperate to get back everything we had already sent, we felt that there was no choice but to follow the process. 

My husband went to our bank, Nationwide, to arrange the transfer. He was invited into the Manager’s office and she asked what he wanted the money for. He told her and she asked if she could have a look at the paperwork we had. After looking through the correspondence and other paperwork she told him it was a scam and that he was not allowed to draw any more money out from the bank. But he did not believe her: he thought she just didn’t want him to empty our account, so he withdrew the money from ATMs. 

Our other bank, Halifax, never said a word throughout this ordeal. But, just in case, James also withdrew our money from the Halifax account using a cash point. 

Because the bank had refused to arrange a transfer, the only way that we could send the money N26 were requesting was via the Post Office. James withdrew the funds from an ATM and the broker gave my husband the address of a work colleague to send it to, which we did. It was supposedly passed to the broker, who then sent it on to N26 financial monitoring.

“We were scraping the bottom of our savings but my husband felt we were too far in to stop.”

After sending this money by post, we got an email from N26 to ask how we could prove the correct money was in the envelope. We said the colleague and the broker would confirm it, which they said they did, but they wanted the money sent again. 

We were scraping the bottom of our savings but my husband felt we were too far in to stop. N26 said they were willing to make an agreement that the broker could loan us 49% and we could come up with the 51%: the agreement was made in writing. This was duly done –  I took out a loan and came up with another £4,000 which was sent. 

We then got an email to say they were sorry but they could not allow the broker to pay the 49%. We had to send yet another payment of £2,000. They assured us once again that this would be the last payment and our money would be released. But, of course, did not happen. 

“All of the inconsistencies could no longer be ignored… there was no end to the delaying tactics.”

This was when things seriously started to unravel. All of the inconsistencies could no longer be ignored and it became alarmingly clear that there was no end to the delaying tactics. 

First, we received another email from N26 to say thank you very much they would be releasing our money but sometimes it takes up to 5 days to reach our allocated account. But it didn’t. 

James then contacted Hudson who informed James there had been a malfunction with their computers, that they were sorting it and to sit tight and wait.

We then received yet another email from N26. This time they said they were sorry but the money had to go into a mempool for three to four months for more checks. Hudson said if James sent £1,000 they may release it, but it was not guaranteed. So James sent another £1,000. We waited 5 days, no payment. Hudson, no answer. 

The next thing we know, N26 have emailed to say that we had to send yet another payment: £1,300 because there had been gaps in getting the previous payments to them. They apologised but insisted that they had to run all the checks on the bank transfers again and it would be three to four months before we got our money. We spoke to the ‘broker’ who said he had spoken to them but no, they would not shift.

I was truly panicking now – there was no more money left. It began to sink in that we may never get our money back.

I sent an email in James’ name, giving N26 financial monitoring until the close of business today to put our money into our account. Of course this did not happen. 

This is when I reached back out to Resolver – there was no more denying the horrible truth that we had been scammed. 

“Over just a few months we sent this fraudster almost all of our savings, in the region of £20,000.” 

Writing out this story, I can see we have been very foolish, but we had received (we thought) emails from a real bank – N26 financial monitoring. 

My husband is 80 and I’m 79 and this caused so much upheaval in our lives: we are feeling truly ill.  

Over just a few months we sent this fraudster almost all of our savings, in the region of £20,000. We have never got even £1 back. We are now broke, with hardly anything left, living on loans, and facing no possibility of recouping this money. 

I suffer with depression and anxiety, I have had multiple TIA’s – known as “mini-strokes”. All of this worry is making me incredibly unwell. For his part, my husband is waiting for a prostate operation: he says he is ok, but I know that he isn’t.

We have argued and argued and argued. At this point it feels hard to process what has happened – but I do feel like I need to share our story to try and expose the broker and raise the alarm about the crypto scammers out there. 

What happens now? 

Caroline and James’ story, and the emails that she was sending to Resolver while this experience was ongoing, make for very distressing reading. 

From an outsider’s perspective, it seems clear that there is something very fishy going on: the pressure to send money to “release” or “unlock” benefits, the fact that the bank is not located in the UK, the persistent calls to pressure them into making deposits, the inability to trace the broker and confirm his identity, the warnings of the police, Action Fraud and their bank, as well as the request for an account number they didn’t have when when Caroline got in touch with N26 via an official channel.

However, what remains widely misunderstood about scams is the way that you are drawn in and subjected to powerful forces of psychological manipulation. 

What started with a small investment of £250 spiralled into almost £20,000. Caroline and her husband were overwhelmed and anxious, being put under pressure to send money in order to recoup the money that they had already sent. Over weeks it became harder and harder to confront the reality of what was happening to them. 

While there were red flags, there were also numerous tactics used to muddy the waters: the scammers assumed the guide of the broker and the bank, creating an impression that numerous parties were involved. N26 is a real online banking service that allows investment in cryptocurrency that the scammers were masquerading as. Mempools are real parts of crypto currency networks – but using this jargon can disarm someone who is unfamiliar with the process. 

Scammers can be very sophisticated in their techniques of psychological manipulation – this includes their understanding of how victims will start to be avoidant and not want to confront the reality of what is happening, or share their concerns about what is going on with their wider community. 

Caroline showed a lot of courage in reaching out and asking for help. Many people who are victimised by scammers feel shame or embarrassment for being taken advantage of and end up keeping it a secret from family and friends. 

Anyone can fall for a scam. Caroline and James are not the first and sadly, not the last to have fallen prey to fraudsters.  

Now Caroline and James must figure out the next steps: processing what has happened and beginning to move forward. This may include seeking emotional support, pursuing financial redress where possible, and rebuilding trust in institutions and themselves.

If there’s one thing their experience highlights, it’s this: scams like these don’t just steal money: they can cost your time, energy, relationships, health and confidence. The recovery process is often slow and painful, but it starts with recognising that being targeted does not make you foolish. It makes you human.

Have you been targeted? 

If you think you’re the victim of a cryptocurrency scam, check out our article: How to Spot a Cryptocurrency Scam. You’ll find practical advice, red flags to look out for, and steps to take immediately if you think you’ve been caught out.

There are also a number of charities and organisations that exist to help victims of scams. Victim Support offers free and confidential help from specially trained staff and volunteers. You can visit their website at www.victimsupport.org or call them on 0808 16 89 111.

And remember: talking to someone, whether it’s a friend, a support organisation, or even your bank, is not a weakness. It’s a powerful act of taking back control. Caroline took that step. If you need to, so can you.

With Resolver Stories you can read real experiences of people fighting for fairness and share your own. Whether you scored a big win or are stuck in an absurd or never-ending nightmare, we want to hear from you! 

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*Names have been changed.