California investor falls prey to social media cryptocurrency scam

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has received a complaint from a California resident regarding cryptocurrency fraud.

A California resident told DFPI he met a woman named Nikasha “Nicky” Love on Instgram who convinced him to send money to a cryptocurrency wallet for investment purposes. These allegations have not been verified by DFPI.

This appears to be what is commonly called an “Advance Fee scheme,” which can take many forms, as discussed here:  https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/advance-fee-schemes

In addition, the DFPI cautions against so-called imposter scams, where the scammer pretends to be someone else, here, another legitimate website. More information is available here: https://consumer.ftc.gov/features/imposter-scams

The DFPI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services.  To check whether an investment or financial service provider is licensed in California, consumers may contact the Department for questions or inquiries at ask.dfpi@dfpi.ca.gov or call toll-free at (866) 275-2677.  If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding a consumer financial product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the DFPI at https://dfpi.ca.gov/file-a-complaint/.