Man Alarmed To Find Whole Crypto Site Was Fake, Stealing His Money

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Absolutely despicable. All Russian for me

A senior citizen whose restaurant equipment business was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic invested all of his life savings in cryptocurrency only to discover that the site he was using was completely bogus.

As NPR reports, 74-year-old Naum Lantsman decided to invest in crypto through a platform called SpireBit, which he found through an Instagram ad.

Shortly after creating an account, the Los Angeles-based businessman was contacted by a representative who gave the name Pavel and who, like Lantsman, spoke Russian and had grown up in the former Soviet Union. .

His initial investment was $500, and within weeks his SpireBit dashboard told him the money had almost doubled. Soon after, Lantsman was convinced by Pavel to invest more and more, eventually putting all of his savings of $340,000 into the site.

It seemed like his money was growing exponentially, but as Lantsman learned while trying to withdraw some of his money, it was all a ruse.

“When he logged into SpireBit, he saw a very convincing fake platform that looked like money being deposited,” his son Daniel told NPR, “and that money was growing.”

Awaiting withdrawal

After Lantsman attempted to withdraw some of his money, SpireBit sent a document claiming to be from British bank Barclay’s, which the financial institution confirmed had been forged, telling him he had to send 2% of the amount requested from the company “as a security measure”. before funds can be disbursed.

Lantsman wasn’t the only one drawn to the scam, either.

Aleksey Madan, a 68-year-old who also grew up in the former Soviet Union, had a remarkably similar story to Lantsman’s, right down to fake bank documents and demands to send more money for so-called security reasons.

“They always promised me that they were going to send me money back,” Madan told NPR. “But that’s always after owing them another amount.”

Card castle

While investigating the two allegations, the public broadcaster discovered that not only did the founder and alleged executives of SpireBit spoof people with profile pictures on LinkedIn, but also that the company was not associated with any of the major crypto institutions she claimed to work with.

Moreover, the alleged parent company of SpireBit, the British company SBT Investments Limited, does not own it at all.

After NPR started asking questions, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority issued a public warning about SpireBit, which it called an unauthorized company that uses other established companies to make it “appear as if it were regulated”.

“We strongly suggest that you do not deal with [unauthorized] businesses,” the FCA warning continues.

Learn more about crypto scams: We’re obsessed with Caroline Ellison’s diary as evidence in the FTX case

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