Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

'We lost our life savings in a cryptocurrency scam'

'We lost our life savings in a cryptocurrency scam'

Joseph had run his own business for years and had built up a tidy sum in savings for retirement.

He planned to use the money to buy a mortgage-free bungalow for him and and his wife to live out the rest of their days.

In a bid to top-up those savings he was drawn into investing online - a move into cryptocurrency trading that left him at the mercy of suspected fraudsters and drained his life savings.

"My wife and I are very upset," he said. "We have lost our lifestyle and our plans."

Joseph is not his real name. He is in his 70s and feels vulnerable and distraught about what happened.

"I wanted to do this online trading as everyone was saying how good it was, to give us a better lifestyle," he said.

Assuming he was making profits, he was drawn into a cycle of investing more in order to get money out.

The scammers said they needed 10% from him to get his money out. He said he was ill, and collapsed while on the phone and they were still on the line when paramedics arrived.

During his illness, he kept getting text messages asking for more funds. He was confused and agreed to hand over more money and eventually lost more than £250,000 in life savings.

Banks have been issuing warnings about fraudulent cryptocurrency trading, and are unlikely to refund any of his losses.


"I thought I was good with my money. It was really when I came out of hospital that the shock of what I'd done hit me," Joseph said.

"The money was for our retirement and any future healthcare we needed. I have no means to recoup the money I've lost as I'm retired."

Citizens Advice said that 36 million adults had been targeted by a scammer so far this year. Of those, 12% were by someone offering a fake investment or get-rich-quick scheme.

"Scams come in many guises, whether it be a get-rich-quick scheme or the promise of romance. It's easy to think it'll never happen to you, but the reality is anyone can be targeted and anyone can be tricked," said Matthew Upton, director of policy at the charity.

Potential harm


A host of charities have been calling for scam adverts to be included in the government's Online Safety Bill, which will soon be scrutinised by MPs and Lords.

One of those, the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, said that millions of internet users, particularly those with mental health problems, were in danger of losing money or sensitive personal information to scammers.

It said there were also risks of confusion as technology companies would be expected to remove some scams from their websites, but not others.

Martin Lewis, who founded the charity, said: "The UK is facing an epidemic of scam adverts. Our advertising rules were set up to police soap manufacturers making false cleanliness claims, not to tackle sophisticated, psychologically adept, digital organised crime, based around the world.

"This has left many scammers untraced, un-investigated, and unpunished. Many get away with these crimes with impunity."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×