Lost my life savings to a 'friend' from a gaming community, fake crypto app. What can I do in SA?
I'm feeling so numb right now. I met this person through a gaming group on Discord, and we were chatting daily for months. They seemed really cool, super supportive, and we even talked about meeting up eventually. Then they introduced me to this 'exclusive' crypto investment platform, showing me screenshots of amazing returns. I started small, and it actually did show profits, so I invested more and more, thinking I was securing my future. I even took out a small loan. They pushed me to put in my entire life savings, which I did, into what I now realize was a fake app.
Now, the 'friend' is gone, the platform is gone, and I can't access anything. My bank thinks it was a legitimate transfer initially. I feel so stupid. I'm in Johannesburg. Is there anything I can even do from South Africa? Any point reporting this, or am I just completely out of luck? Any advice on who to contact here?
asked by Sipho Smit· 4d ago
