In the beginning it is a harmless dating chat.
Then the new acquaintance suggests investing money in cryptocurrency.
What Paul doesn't know is that the trading platform the woman is directing him to is a fake.
His money disappears: a total of 100,000 euros.
"I even took out a bank loan for it," says Paul, who prefers not to give his real name.
His story is not unique.
Crypto rip-offs are robbing many people of their money with the new scam.
"It's a form of organized crime," say SPIEGEL business editors Marcel Rosenbach and Max Hoppenstedt.
In this episode of SPIEGEL Daily you can find out why the German judiciary is having a hard time here and which warning signals should make you suspicious.
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