Game Show Winner Loses $39K in Bitcoin Facebook Scam

Aug 18, 2020 at 09:01 UTC

A former winner of the game show Deal or No Deal has been scammed out of his retirement savings after investing in bitcoin through an ad on Facebook.

According to a Daily Record report on Tuesday, Scottish retiree Graeme Garioch was defrauded of £30,000 (US$39,400) by a phony investment company.
The former railway worker, who appeared on Deal or No Deal in 2007, clicked on a Facebook ad from a company called OMC Markets.
Interested in investing ahead of his retirement, Garioch agreed to invest after speaking to a company representative who claimed they were in London but were actually based in Bulgaria, according to the report.
Garioch deposited a total of £29,000 (US$38,090) into a bitcoin wallet and signed a waiver denying him access to his funds for six months.
The scammers also convinced Garioch to give them access to his bank account, supposedly so they could make bitcoin trades on his behalf.
After doubling his money, Garioch tried to pull out his funds in March 2019 but was told he needed to pay a further £6000 (US$7,880) in fees, to which Garioch complied.
Shortly after Garioch’s funds were completely drained and OMC Markets ignored Garioch’s email requests demanding an explanation.
“Facebook needs to do more,” Garioch said who was planning on buying a house with his investment earnings, “you cry inside.”

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