Anger burned intensely in my chest
Anger burned intensely in my chest. I met someone on Instagram who promised to teach me DeFi node operation. The scammer even sent me 0.64 USDC with which I registered and deposited into this website, showed me how to trade, and I made some profit and even withdrew 1.63 USDC. The scammer then advised that I invest more so I can get greater rewards. So I took out my life savings for $135,102 and deposited it, followed all the instructions and was able to take my balance to $534,138. I was so excited, so I decided to withdraw $491,397, but was told the amount is too large, I would need to pay a 16% network validation fee ($78,623). I quickly took another loan and paid it since I was sure withdrawal was possible because I had withdrawn in the past. Then they demanded another 30% security audit fee, which was when it dawned on me that it was a con. I explained to my credit provider, and he referred me to a on-chain tracking firm (fiscop advisor), who started tracing the movements of the USDC until it was sold on Bybit P2P. The scammers' bank info was obtained, and he was caught, and the USDC reversed.