A cryptocurrency swindler shared these images allegedly of herself to get over EUR 250,000 out of men in Germany in a series of investment scams.
The fraudster, posing as the young woman who introduced herself to her victims as ‘Yoona’, preyed on men going through relationship troubles and divorces, with more and more of them now coming forward.
German media said that the fraudster appeared to have used the name and likeness of a South Korean influencer called “Yoona”, who has over 17 million followers on Instagram.
The scammer, posing as a pretty Korean woman, led men to believe that they were romantically involved with her and got them to invest in the cryptocurrency USDT (Tether).
German media said one 39-year-old victim, not named, from Konstanz, in Baden-Wuerttemberg, was the first to go public.
The mechanical engineer said that he had lost EUR 100,000 (GBP 86,281) to the fraudster.
He explained: “First we chatted about private matters, then the woman introduced me to a type of investment with supposedly high returns.”
He reportedly deposited EUR 100 (GBP 86.28) on the cryptocurrency exchange zsline.com.
That investment started when he transferred a total of EUR 5,000 (GBP 4,314) and got a payout of EUR 5,677 (GBP 4,898).
He increased his investments and in the meantime, ‘Yoona’ began flirting with him and promised to meet him in Nuremberg.
The mechanical engineer said: “I, a stupid person, even went to meet her. While I was waiting, I received a WhatsApp from her. She said she doesn’t have time now because she has to take care of her aunt.”
She then convinced him to increase his investments, saying: “I cheated my father out of EUR 45,000 [GBP 38,826] and a friend out of EUR 20,000 [GBP 17,256].
“Now everything is gone, including the EUR 30,000 [GBP 25,885] that I saved myself.”
And after he came forward, other victims began to emerge, with the German authorities now investigating.
Another victim, a 40-year-old production manager from Nordhausen in Thuringia, said: “I started with EUR 1,000 [GBP 862], which quickly got 10 per cent interest and was paid out.
“Then I added more and more money to free up my ever-increasing balance.
“Apparently, it was about suspected money laundering, reaching the next level of dealer and tax. Now EUR 40,000 [GBP 34,513] are gone. I have filed a complaint.”
While a third victim, a 36-year-old electronics engineer from Frankfurt, said: “My woman called herself ‘Lim Yoona’.
“I was in a marital crisis and responded to her WhatsApp messages. To meet her demands, I begged my family for EUR 10,000 [GBP 8,628] and transferred the money to the crypto exchange zsline.com. I lost EUR 22,000 [GBP 18,982] and I’m infinitely ashamed.”
A 34-year-old job centre worker, from Quedlinburg in Saxony-Anhalt, said: “This woman is very clever. We were on a video call and she was sitting in a dark room and talking to me in English.
“You end up in a vicious circle of supposed profits and new demands. In order to inject more money, I went into debt with Targobank to the tune of EUR 22,000.
“In total, I wasted EUR 55,000 [GBP 47,451].”
Local media said that so far eight victims have come forward and together, they have lost about EUR 250,000 (GBP 215,700).
Katrin Rosenthal, a spokesperson for the police in Konstanz, told local media: “The police are clarifying whether the perpetrators are always the same. It is possible that the cases will be consolidated into a single prosecutor’s office..”
