Lost my life savings to a 'fixed deposit' crypto platform, is recovery even possible?
Hey everyone,
I feel so stupid right now, i just need to know if there's any hope. I got cold-messaged on Telegram a few months ago by someone claiming to be an investment advisor. They talked me into putting my savings, about 15,000 EUR, into a crypto platform that promised really high, fixed daily returns, like 1.5-2% on a 'fixed deposit'. Sounded too good to be true, I know, but they showed me 'proof' with screenshots and everything. I deposited USDT initially, converted some to MATIC for lower fees, and watched it 'grow' in my account dashboard. It looked so real. I even made a small withdrawal of 100 EUR once to my Kraken account, which worked!
Then, when I tried to withdraw a larger amount, like 5,000 EUR, they said I needed to pay a 'tax fee' upfront of 15% of my balance. I paid that, hoping to get my money. Then they asked for another 'insurance fee' because my deposit was 'too large'. I haven't paid that one. Now their website is gone, and the person blocked me. I've reported it to the local police here in Hannover, but they just said crypto is hard. What can I even do? Is this all just gone?
asked by Thomas Neumann· 17d ago