This post is about how I was inevitably scammed, and what I would change if I would redo it all from the start.

I have a good friend, whom I really appreciate and trust.
(I will not disclose if it is a woman or a man, so I will use the they)

This person knows money very well, they trade daily and they are in the many crypto and economic communities. Crypto and Fiat is what they deal with in their every day life.

I do not know much, but I do not a few things about how to stay safe. I also know how to recognize a scam when I see it.

Image created using chatGPT

What does this image remind you of?

A pyramid scheme + crypto
Also known as .. a Ponzi Scheme

A Ponzi scheme is a type of investment scam where returns to earlier investors are paid from the contributions of new investors, rather than from actual profits generated by a legitimate business or investment. It’s structured to create the illusion of a profitable venture, but there’s no real source of income or profit behind it.
More information here

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Back to our story.

My friend came to me and told me..
Hey Katerina, there is a new bot that accepts a minimum of 20 USDT and it gives a 2% daily profit. Me and friends have been doing it for a while, and some of them have withdrawn from it, so for now at least - it is legit. I am not sure if and when it will collapse, but - do you want in?

I thought, why not?

I knew that when people get early in ponzi, they may win a little money.
And I did not want to discourage my friend, who advised.

I knew and I told my friend, look - this is going to go down. But I dont know when.

But I decided to put some money, just a few USDT - to see how it was going.

The new user needed to create an account online, and click a button on a daily basis to place the order.

I created the account, put some USDT and every day I was clicking the button.
I started seeing some profit, but did not take my money out.
I was thinking of sharing this information here, on hive, and with some friends - but always with a note to be careful.

My friend called me a few days ago and said...
XXXX has withdrawn 2500$ - and YYYYY has already doubled his money. I am taking my profit every few days.

And I replied...
I am about to go on a trip, so I dont want to give more money, because I will need for the journey. But - when I come back I may put some extra $$$

And yesterday my friend broke the news.

The system is up, our money is gone.
All of it.
Gone. BOOM. Disappeared.

One of our other friends, decided to invest their siblings money. They had earned money, but recently put even more in the system.

BOOM.

I felt sorry for everyone. For me too.
Some of the users I know, had a profit. Some had a loss.
I had a loss, but not a big one.

I am the only one to blame for this.

So, what would I do different - in case I redid it now ?

I would put the minimum amount and I would start withdrawing after a few days.
I would at least try to get my initial money back. One very important thing that would hit a big bell now is that the moment we hear about users withdrawing large amounts - this means that we should RUN, RUN FAR AWAY!

This probably means that they will get greedy, put more money and then the system will fall down the rocks - because the system owners will also be greedy.

Even though I do cry about my money, because even thought it was not much, it would be a great help at this point, I am grateful for another lesson learned in the crypto world.

Please always, always, ALWAYS, do your due diligence - and DO NOT INVEST more money than what you can lose.

Do you have any similar experience?
Have you ever participated to a scheme that evidently looked like a ponzi?

Let me know in the comments!

Posted Using InLeo Alpha