An American Woman Falls Victim to Crypto "Rug Pull" Romance Scam, Loses Nearly $1 Million

By: theblockbeats.news|2025/12/09 10:45:55

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BlockBeats News, December 9th, according to Decrypt, a woman in San Jose, California, USA, realized that she was involved in a cryptocurrency "piggyback" scam and lost nearly $1 million after consulting ChatGPT.

Victim Margaret Loke met a man named "Ed" on Facebook in May this year, who claimed to be a wealthy businessman and gradually built an emotional connection. Subsequently, "Ed" guided her to invest in cryptocurrency. Loke transferred over $490,000 from her retirement account and then another $300,000 through a home equity loan.

When the so-called cryptocurrency account was suddenly "frozen" and "Ed" requested an additional $1 million to unlock the funds, Loke described the situation to ChatGPT. ChatGPT responded that this setup matched a known scam pattern and advised her to report it to the authorities. An investigation revealed that the funds were transferred to a bank account in Malaysia and withdrawn by the scammer.

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