Family Savings Frozen After Falling into the IBM-EA Arbitrage Trap

An American father recently issued a warning on a trading forum, revealing that an investment scam had not only cost him his entire family savings but also led to unreasonable demands for tens of thousands of dollars in additional funds to "unfreeze" his account.

According to his description, he encountered an individual calling themselves "Elena" on the social media platform X, who lured him to an arbitrage trading platform named "IBM-EA." Out of trust or the desire for returns, he gradually sent approximately 12,000 to 13,000 USDC to the platform.

IBM-EA Website Page

However, once the funds entered the platform, they never returned. Over the past month, the victim has not been able to successfully withdraw a single cent. To make matters worse, the platform forcibly enrolled him in a so-called "bonus program" without his consent or any explanation of the rules. Currently, although the victim's account shows a balance of nearly 17,000 USDC, these funds are completely frozen. The platform has set an absurd condition for unfreezing the account: the victim must deposit an additional $32,000 to receive a purported 10,000 USDC bonus and regain access to his account.

For the victim, this is far more than just a numbers game. In his plea for help, he expressed in agony that this was the entire life savings for him, his wife, and their two children. He even stated that he did not care what happened to himself, as long as his family did not have to suffer this pain.

Similar Experiences from Other Traders

After his post was published, one user pointed out bluntly: "Your money you 'invested' is gone. There was never any returns. It was all part of the scam." Another user further analyzed the situation as a classic "Pig Butchering" scam. Scammers exploit the unregulated and irreversible nature of cryptocurrency to forge trading data and bonus programs, with the sole purpose of setting up constant barriers to lure victims into investing more money.

Other traders shared similar experiences from years ago; one lost about 6,000 USDC in a similar scheme, where the scammers even aggressively demanded he cash out his 401K retirement fund to invest. Based on their personal experiences, these traders warned the victim that the scammers' script is likely not over—they might even resurface next year under a different identity, claiming "new personnel are taking over old accounts" and alleging the investment has grown to induce another payment.

In addition to confirming the scam, several traders simultaneously issued warnings regarding "recovery scams." They reminded the victim not to trust any strangers or organizations claiming they can help recover the lost funds.

BrokersView Reminds You

In this case, IBM-EA exhibits typical characteristics of a fraudulent platform: forced bonuses, freezing of accounts, and extortion for additional funds. Pay special attention to refusing any demands for extra capital. Specifically, if a platform requires you to pay more fees under the guise of "unfreezing," "bonuses," or "verification," please stop all transfers immediately.