Romance Scam via Dating Apps: $5,576 Stolen by Fake GTCFX

An investor residing in South Korea recently fell victim to a Romance scam, losing more than $5,500 to a fraudulent platform posing as GTCFX. It was reported that she met a man on a dating app and was persuaded to invest, not realizing that what she was experiencing was a scam!

According to the victim, the man she met on a dating app claimed to be Japanese but was living in South Korea.

After chatting for some time through WhatsApp, the man advised the victim to invest through the online trading platform “GTC”. Out of trust, the victim accepted the offer and created a trading account using the link and instructions provided by him. By trading instruments such as Bitcoin and XAU/USD, the victim earned nearly $2,000 in profits.

_{The screenshots of transaction record}

She requested a withdrawal of $1,500, but was informed that her account was subject to certain restrictions. Before accessing her funds, she would be required to pay a “personal income tax” amounting to 20% of the withdrawal.

Although she complied with the payment, the platform denied her withdrawal request. This time, customer service stated that she could only withdraw the full balance of her account and pay 20% of that total as a “personal income tax” before the funds could be released.

At this point, her account balance was $6,718.68, and she had already paid $300. The platform demanded an additional payment of 1,040 USDT to complete the withdrawal, which left the victim deeply confused as she had only intended to withdraw $1,500 and couldn’t understand why she was being asked to pay taxes on her entire balance. She was also unwilling to make any further payments.

She had no choice but to seek help from the Japanese man who had recommended her to the platform. At first, the man pretended to be willing to help her, but eventually sided with “GTCFX” and urged her to pay the 1040USDT as soon as possible, saying, “We can only do what they say now.”

_{The fraudulent platform and the man both urged the victim to pay 'tax'}

In fact, the man was likely the same individual posing as the platform’s customer service representative, attempting to further defraud her of her money.

The screenshot shared by the victim reveals a basic interface of the trading platform, displaying the logo and name of the Dubai forex broker GTC. However, it lacks any verifiable registration details or regulatory disclosures, which indicates that the victim was trading on a fraudulent platform.

_{The fraudulent trading platform used logo and name of the genuine GTC}

The victim woman lost $5,039 and eventually realized the man was actually a scammer.

BrokersView reminds you

Romance scams exploit victims’ trust, gradually leading them to a fraudulent investment platform. This deceptive scheme not only results in significant financial loss but also triggers serious psychological distress.

Investors should exercise caution when receiving investment offers from unconventional sources. It’s essential to verify the regulatory status of trading platforms through financial authorities before transactions.

If you've encountered similar scams, you can expose them via BrokersView to help safeguard others from falling into the same trap.