• Florida authorities report rising crypto scams after a Daytona Beach Shores man sent over $317,000 to a fake investment platform.
• Investigators later found out that at least 16 additional victims also suffered loss, bringing total losses to more than $4 million.

Florida investigators are warning residents about the growing number of crypto scams going on after a man lost over $317,000 to a fake crypto scam. According to the federal records, the entire situation started after a random woman sent a message that she needed help to walk her dog. Within a few days, that innocent message quickly turned into one of the most expensive experiences of the victim’s life.

How the Crypto Scam Operated

The whole story officially started after the Daytona Beach Shores man replied to the unexpected text and informed the sender that she had contacted the wrong person. The criminal, instead of immediately ending the conversation, continued chatting with the victim. She now introduced herself as Astrid Orlov and claimed she lived in the Lake Nona area of Orlando with her uncle. Over time, the victim became more comfortable with her as they exchanged messages almost every day.

After a while, the conversations shifted from just simple greetings to something more personal. The woman (criminal in this case) encouraged them to move their chats to WhatsApp, and after a while, they started to reach each other on video calls. But all the while they communicated, the woman never showed her face, claiming she was in a location with poor internet service. The man believed her excuses because she sounded friendly, consistent, and invested in the conversations.

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After the criminal managed to gain the trust of the man, she moved into discussing online trading. She claimed that she made steady profits from buying and selling gold and digital currencies and also that her uncle analyzed financial trends, and by doing that, he helped her choose the best times to trade. This made the victim believe she was experienced and knowledgeable.

Eventually, the woman convinced him to create an account on a platform called XM DeFi, insisting that the website was reliable and that he would earn fast returns. Following her guidance, the victim transferred $5,000 into a cryptocurrency wallet and bought Bitcoin.

Shortly after depositing his money, the man saw what he thought were significant gains from his investment. In fact, he was able to withdraw about $278 to his Crypto.com wallet. This convinced him the platform was genuine and made him continue to send money to the platform. The authorities confirmed that between February and May 2024 he had sent $312,000 to the platform.

In April 2024, the victim noticed that there were unusual deductions from his account and his balance no longer matched the numbers he expected. When he questioned the woman, she brushed it off and told him everything was normal. Federal authorities later discovered that the man was only one of many people targeted by this scam, and at least 16 victims across different areas lost a combined total of more than $4 million. 

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