I never used TikTok before my granddaughter 任命する／導入するd it for me... three months later, I was duped into 手渡すing £117,000 to crypto 反対／詐欺 artists

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Retired 救急車 driver Peter Verheul had never used TikTok before his 19-year-old granddaughter downloaded it on to his phone so she could show him a funny ビデオ.

After that day in March, he rarely opened the social マスコミ app, but three months later, the 66-year-old was scrolling through ビデオs on TikTok when one caught his 注目する，もくろむ.

The ビデオ swept across a swish 財政上の 地区 with words superimposed over the images reading: 'Let's say you 投資するd £200 today. Month 0 ― £200. Month 1 ― £321. Month 2 ― £517. Month 6 ― £2,152.'

The 関わりあい／含蓄 was （疑いを）晴らす: this was an 投資 適切な時期 you couldn't afford to 行方不明になる.

The TikTok ビデオ asked the テレビ視聴者 to send a direct message to the ビデオ owner's account to get started.?

麻薬中毒の: Fraudsters are 誘惑するing older and more 攻撃を受けやすい into scams by 申し込む／申し出ing hu ge returns on cryptocurrency 投資s?

Peter had never 投資するd before, but decided it was 価値（がある） a try for £200. He needed to find some way of growing his 貯金 to afford a new home.

The grandfather of two, from Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, is 苦しむing from an 積極的な form of 癌 and was finding it a struggle to get upstairs in his 現在の 所有物／資産／財産.?

He searched Google for （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） on the Isa 投資 company 指名するd in the ビデオ. He 設立する a website and 言及／関連s どこかよそで online to the company, so assumed he was 取引，協定ing with a reputable organisation.

He messaged the ビデオ owner's TikTok profile and received a reply, asking for his email 演説（する）／住所 and phone number.

He was told an 投資 経営者／支配人 would call to help him 始める，決める up an 投資するing account.

'It wasn't a 抱擁する 投資 so it was 価値（がある） a go ― 特に as the returns seemed so good. The next day I got a call from a young lady called Charlotte, who said she was my 投資 経営者／支配人 at the company, based in Switzerland,' he says.?

'She 手配中の，お尋ね者 to know why I was 投資するing, so I told her about the 癌 and said I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to make my 貯金 work harder for me. I was told the £200 would go into cryptocurrency.'

Peter received a スピードを出す／記録につける-in 経由で email and paid in the money to his account. He could 接近 his account online to see the value. A few days later, Charlotte called him 支援する to say his 投資 had already grown to £310.

'It was really exciting and seemed like a 広大な／多数の／重要な 投資. When I logged on, it looked like a proper 貿易（する）ing 壇・綱領・公約, with prices going up or 負かす／撃墜する,' he says. 'I could see the value had jumped up very quickly.?

'I left it a few more days to check that it was stable, and then decided to 投資する some more money.'

Peter who lives alone, tragically lost one of his two daughters last year. He had a little over £100,000 in 貯金 and was 焦点（を合わせる）d on using it to move home and get 支援する on his feet.

Charlotte asked him to download an app called AnyDesk. She said this would enable her to help him on his phone if he didn't understand 確かな apps.

He says: 'She asked me to open the app and the next moment she had 支配（する）／統制する of my phone. I thought she would show me how to do things, but she was doing everything so quickly,' he says. 'I felt uncomfortable, but she kept showing me how 井戸／弁護士席 my 投資 was doing.'

With Charlotte guiding him, Peter believed he was 投資するing in さまざまな cryptocurrencies 経由で an Isa, and transferred £5,000.

'In no time it grew to £11,000. I could see my 指名する on the account and all the 詳細（に述べる）s checked out, so I kept 投資するing,' he says.

One week later, Charlotte advised him to make a second 移転 of £5,000, which he did.

Over the next month, Peter would make 12 処理／取引s 価値（がある） a total of £110,000.

納得させるing: Sylvia Harber had two account 経営者／支配人s, Errol and Eric, 割り当てるd to her when she 投資するd in a cryptocurrency she had seen advertised on Facebook

Charlotte called every day to give 正規の／正選手 updates on his account, and the pair 'grew の近くに', he says.

'I had been on my own for more than five years and here we were speaking so often. She 手配中の，お尋ね者 to visit me from Switzerland, and it was （疑いを）晴らす she 手配中の，お尋ね者 to be more than friends,' he 追加するs.

It was only when Peter 手配中の，お尋ね者 to 身を引く £10,000 from his 投資 in July that he realised something wasn't 権利.

'Charlotte said she was on a work trip to New York so she couldn't help. I tried to 移転 the money to my bank account, but it was stuck on 未解決の and nothing happened.

'Eight or nine days went by and she didn't call ― that's when I started to get a bit 疑わしい. It was unusual to go that long without speaking.'

Peter then received an email from a company called スイスの Blockchain 知らせるing him they had his money and it was sa fe ― but he needed to send £7,400 to 解放（する） it.

Starting to get 関心d about the どの辺に of his money, Peter says he got the money together and paid スイスの Blockchain.

'I just 手配中の，お尋ね者 my money so I 捨てるd it together,' he says. 'Then they told me they needed another £23,000 and that's when it clicked. It didn't make sense.'

He emailed Blockchain.com, a 本物の 貿易（する）ing website, and was told スイスの Blockchain doesn't 存在する.

'That's when I realised it was all a 反対／詐欺 and I'd been scammed,' Peter says. 'I was shocked and 荒廃させるd. I'd thought Charlotte was going to move from Switzerland to London, so I was heartbroken. She led me on and my money was gone. There's no fool like an old fool.

'I couldn't 対処する ― between the 癌 and losing my daughter last year, it was too much and 押し進めるd me over the 辛勝する／優位,' Peter says.

Peter was in shock and took a week to 報告（する）／憶測 the 詐欺 to the police and his bank, HSBC.

He says the 強調する／ストレス of the 状況／情勢 saw him 試みる／企てる to take his own life. He says: 'I couldn't leave the house for days. I didn't want to believe it was a scam and I couldn't get my thoughts straight ― the 医薬 I'm on for my 癌 t reatment tends to 原因（となる） brain 霧.'

HSBC says the 事例／患者 is with the 財政上の Ombudsman Service, and it is supporting the 調査.

Peter fell 犠牲者 to one of the most ありふれた ― and 高くつく／犠牲の大きい ― types of scam flooding social マスコミ: the get-rich-quick 投資 反対／詐欺.

Jim Winters, director of 経済的な 罪，犯罪 at 全国的な, says 投資 scams are the 'most traumatic and 損失ing of all scam types'.

He says: 'It is the most traumatic ーに関して／ーの点でs of the emotional 衝撃 it has on 犠牲者s because the sums of money 伴う／関わるd are so 広大な／多数の／重要な.

'I 堅固に believe that if you are manipulated to the extent that you lose everything, it is incredibly emotionally 損失ing when that 泡 bursts. The first reaction is to panic and ask how they could have been so silly, but they were under a （一定の）期間.'

犯罪のs ますます use social マスコミ to 的 people between the ages of 55 and 80 for 投資 scams, where they make attractive 申し込む／申し出s of 平易な money or incredible-sounding long-称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語 投資 取引，協定s.?

Online menace: 犯罪のs ますます use social マスコミ to 的 people between the ages of 55 and 80 for 投資 scams

Mr Winters says this age 範囲 is likely to be 的d because it tends to 含む people with larger sums of money 利用できる to 投資する.

They are also いっそう少なく likely to be savvy using social マスコミ, and so more easily 落ちる for 偽の 投資s or 偽の adverts. He says: 'They are likely to have received an 相続物件 or have 接近 to their 25 per cent 税金-解放する／自由な 年金 lump sum. This means they are more likely to consider an 投資.'

'The fraudsters 現在の themselves as 存在 very professional, and if you aren't digitally savvy you might believe the screenshots and 業績／成果 charts.' 研究 from Lloyds Bank 設立する 犠牲者s 老年の 65 to 74 lost an 普通の／平均（する） of £30,397 to 投資 scams ― more than any other age group.

Liz Ziegler, 詐欺 予防 director at Lloyds Bank, says: 'Anyone can 落ちる 犠牲者 to an 投資 scam, and sadly it's older 投資家s who stand to lose the most money.'

Dozens of Money Mail readers have written in to tell their own horror stories of deception.

The 広大な 大多数 of 事例／患者s 起こる／始まる on social マスコミ, which has become a gateway for 犯罪のs to 的 their unsuspecting 犠牲者s.

Money Mail's Stop The Social マスコミ Scammers （選挙などの）運動をする is calling on tech companies to better 保護する 使用者s from unscrupulo us fraudsters.

Ms Ziegler says: 'Predictably, our 分析 示唆するs that social マスコミ 壇・綱領・公約s are the main 産む／飼育するing ground for these types of scams, with a mix of 偽の 広告s, 偽の 裏書，是認s and cloned accounts 存在 重要な to fraudsters' methods.

'It's time social マスコミ companies took 責任／義務 for 保護するing their own 顧客s, stopping scams at source and 与える／捧げるing to refunds when their 壇・綱領・公約s are used to defraud innocent 犠牲者s.'

犯罪のs make more money from 偽の 投資s than on impersonation, romance and 購入（する） scams, によれば banking 貿易（する） 団体／死体 UK 財政／金融. Almost £114 million was lost to 投資 scams in 2022.

Crooks typically 納得させる 犠牲者s to move their money to a fictitious 基金 or to 支払う／賃金 for a 偽の 投資. They will usually 約束 a high return on 資産s such as gold, 所有物／資産／財産, 炭素 credits, cryptocurrencies and ワイン.

The 偽の company will typically 割り当てる 投資家s an '投資 経営者／支配人', who ― like in Peter's 事例／患者 ― calls frequently and keeps you on the phone for a long time, encouraging you to buy more.

The '投資 経営者／支配人' will also 圧力 you to stay on the phone while you speak to your bank about your 最新の 移転.

Peter 確認するs: 'Charlotte stayed on the line while I spoke to my bank, and knew 正確に／まさに what I needed to say to make the 移転 go through.'

Bait: Crooks typically 納得させる 犠牲者s to move their money to a fictitious 基金 or to 支払う／賃金 for a 偽の 投資. They will usually 約束 a high return

Sally Hamilton, Money Mail's 消費者 支持する／優勝者, says the 犯罪のs are 高度に 技術d at social 工学. 'Unless you have experienced the 十分な 軍隊 of a professional scammer, it can be hard to imagine the position of panic they put you in,' she says.

'It is difficult to 行為／法令／行動する rationally when 圧力 is 存在 適用するd slickly and forcefully by crooks who are 井戸／弁護士席-trained in social 工学 techniques.

'You might ask why would someone 無視／無効 a 警告 from a bank, for instance? Because the cunning scammers have groomed a 犠牲者 to 信用 them 絶対 and 説得する them that their bank is not working in their 利益／興味s.'

These methods can work on even the most intelligent and educated people, she 警告するs. But those most susceptible are the 攻撃を受けやすい, whether 予定 to age, poor mental or physical health, people 苦しむing bereavement or 離婚, or those who 簡単に don't understand or 恐れる 科学（工学）技術.

I fell for '£50 Gino D'Acampo scam'?

Sylvia Harber decided to 投資する in cryptocurrency after seeing a 偽の advert on Facebook.

The 地位，任命する featured a picture of Italian TV chef Gino D'Acampo, and showed him seemingly 是認するing a crypto 通貨 投資.

The 81-year-old says it （人命などを）奪う，主張するd that in the time you read the few 宣告，判決s, a £50 投資 would be 価値（がある） several times more.

'I thought for £50 it was 価値（がある） a try,' she says. 'I clicked the link under the image and a lady told me an account 経営者／支配人 would be in touch すぐに.' Sylvia was then called by a man 指名するd Errol and, like Peter, she was told to download the Anydesk app on to her smartphone.

'At that point they take over your phone and manage it all for you. I know how to use computers and 科学（工学）技術, but I didn't realise he could do that,' she says.

The mother-of-one from Orpington, Kent, was soon 苦境に陥るd in a scam 耐えるing a 脅すing resemblance to Peter's, even 負かす／撃墜する to 偽の account 経営者／支配人s living in Switzerland. However, the 指名するs of the companies 伴う／関わるd 異なる.

In both 事例／患者s, the 犠牲者s were asked to 始める，決める up a bank account with Revolut, into which they would 移転 money before sending it on to the crypto 壇・綱領・公約.

Many big mainstream banks ― 含むing HSBC and 全国的な ―make it hard to buy crypto 通貨s.?

Mr Winters of 全国的な says: 'There's a （疑いを）晴らす pattern in 確かな 投資 scams ーに関して／ーの点でs of how 犠牲者s are socially engineered and taken through 明確な／細部 指示／教授／教育s.?

'This 含むs 存在 coached into 開始 accounts with banks that 許す them to send money to cryptocurrency 壇・綱領・公約s.'

After seeing her 投資 balloon from £50 to £90 within days, Sylvia 投資するd a その上の £250, then stepped up to £5,000 investm ents. In total, she made ten 処理／取引s 価値（がある） £55,000 in the three months to June, 含むing a final 移転 of £30,000.

Her account 経営者／支配人 coached her on what to tell her bank, Santander, ーするために continue making 投資s to Revolut. She was told to say the money was going to her own account with another bank, and was 存在 moved to make the most of 高金利s.

She was told not to について言及する cryptocurrencies or the 指名する of the 偽の 貿易（する）ing company. If she took out a 貸付金, she should say it was for 'home 改良s'.

Sylvia's 投資s appeared to have grown to £96,000.

'At one point, the account 経営者／支配人 called to say his daughter had 癌 and he needed money, but wouldn't receive his （売買）手数料，委託（する）／委員会／権限 on my account unless I withdrew some of my 投資s,' she says. 'I asked for the money 支援する, and that's when I heard from another company 警告 me my money was tied up in money laundering. They needed £3,000 to 解放（する） my money.'

But Sylvia had no 貯金 left and was 圧力d into taking out a 貸付金. 予定 to her age and circumstances, she was turned 負かす／撃墜する by three banks.

'I was in 涙／ほころびs and rang my daughter, who lives in Seattle in the U.S., and she told me it was a scam. I felt ashamed and was not sleeping because I was worried sick,' she says.

'We won't be able to afford the same lifestyle any more.'

Sylvia 報告（する）／憶測d the 事例／患者 to the police and her bank, Santander, but was 否定するd a refund. Santander is now reviewing her 事例／患者 に引き続いて Money Mail's 関与. Revolut says it is working with the FOS to 調査／捜査する Sylvia's 事例／患者.

A Revolut 広報担当者 says: 'We are very sorry to hear about both Mr Verheul and Ms Harber's 事例／患者s, or any instance where our 顧客s are 的d by ruthless and 高度に soph isticated 犯罪のs.

'We take our 責任／義務 to 保護する and support our 顧客s 極端に 本気で and have made 重要な 投資s in our systems, 過程s and people to 確実にする that our 顧客s are 安全な.'

A 広報担当者 at Santander says: 'Santander has every sympathy for 顧客s who are 犠牲者s of these scams.?

'We have reviewed Ms Harber's 事例／患者 and as she fully authorised the 移転s from Santander to her own account with Revolut we will not be refunding in this 事例／患者. Santander also 問題／発行するd 非常に／多数の scam 警告s to Ms Harber.'

j.耐えるd@dailymail.co.uk

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