Got scammed 20k with buying crypto for them to invest it for me

[Hello17378]

hi, I got scammed recently 20k from falling for a scam. At first they asked for little money then eventually kept asking for more for each “step” and it soon turned into a lot of money. I carried on thinking I can’t give up now because I’ve already lost a lot and I would miss out on the return they promised.

the bank I bought bitcoin with won’t do anything because it’s not a proper bank but I transferred money from my main bank to that one. I was wondering if my main bank would be able to help refund the money I’ve been scammed? And what should I say when I call them. Really stressed and worried about the amount of money I’ve lost and currently got no income because this is the money I got from a house sale and lost my benefits due to it being over 16k

Yup.

Because of people like the Op it is really difficult to buy any crypto at all.

So many banks don't allow it.

Most likely op transferred cash to revolut is- because I'm sure HSBC don't make it easy, unlike revolut- which is crypto friendly

"Without proactive steps to ‘break the spell’ of fraudsters, customers will often proceed with the payment they are making."

That's an accurate description. I repeatedly warned a family member that something he was doing was a scam but he was in such a blind panic that he carried on. So ensorcelled that he was, effectively, spellbound.

On another occasion, I just happened to text a friend who was en route to his Building Society in the grip of another well known scam when something suddenly brought him to himself and he realised what he was doing (and discontinued).

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't witnessed it/known these people. But that's why these scams are so effective.

You won’t be seeing the money again - sorry.
It’s a hard lesson learned, but there’s only so much banks can do to stop a fool and their money being parted.

Banks should also recognise suspicious activity and try and stop it or give warnings.

How many times have banks warned us about scams? You transferred amounts into a bank account that had your name on it, what seemed suspicious about that? You said it was out of character for you and the bank should have done something about it. Do you not have to verify the payment by putting your pin in or entering a one time passcode? If you transferred small amounts that added up to 20k, what were the bank meant to do about it?

As sad as it is, in these cases you do need to take some responsibility here. You made a bad financial decision and now you expect the bank to bail you out. 20k is a lot of money, heck, 5k is but you made the decision to invest the money. Unfortunately, it’s gone wrong because there was a scammer at the end of it. What could/should HSBC do for you?

But you said yourself you got money from a house sale

So there was no suspicious activity from HSBC perspective, you were spending your own money as you chose.

But...I do wonder if you have a case against Revolut, looking at this?

https://www.revolut.com/about-fraud-and-scam/

i'm not 100% clear what Revolut is tbh. Pp have said they don't have a banking licence but it looks like they do have FSCS cover for savings.

HSBC have no liability here whatsoever.
You transferred money to yourself.
There is nothing suspicious about this at all.
You are wasting your time trying to get HBSC to do anything.

There are literally thousands of warnings about not transferring funds anywhere you aren't certain of. Banks & watchdogs etc. are blue in the face warning people.
They can only do so much. They cannot compensate for people who still may ill-advised and uninformed, poor choices.

I'm sorry this happened to you but they cannot and should not compensate for stupidity. You clearly didn't research enough where you were sending the money. If you did, you wouldn't have sent it. It's not the Bank's fault.

There’s a law firm always advertising on Heart who say they can take up these sorts of cases. I think they will probably work on a no win no fee basis. Might be worth contacting them to see if they’ll take on your case.

They are called CEL. CEL Fraud case study

Isn't it like saying I've spent £100 on
online scratch cards and instant games but because I didn't win my bank should refund me the £100?

How did they actually scam you?

No, I don't think these were legit currency purchases and the exchange rate tanked. It looks like the link someone posted above where you pay bitcoin into some kind of 'trading platform' and then have to pay more to get it back out again and mysteriously it never reappears. This kind of thing https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/beatthescammers/article-12827995/Im-retired-businessman-fell-online-bitcoin-scam-sell-house-pay-30k.html

I'm sure the scammers play on the voltaility of the bitcoin exchange rate to suggest you can multiply your money quickly.

If you made transfers there will have been messages online asking if you know recipient. You can try Action Fraud but suspect you acknowledged any such warnings and moved on.

OP, I really can't see how this is HSBC's fault and I really wish people would accept some personal responsibility for their own actions.

On a completely separate note, thank you @adultchildofalcoholicparents for teaching me a new word - Ensorcelled 🪄🧙‍♂️- amazing word!

Agree with others. I can’t see how this is the banks fault.

you transferred to Revolut so hsbc can’t do anything about that if both accounts are in your name.

buying crypto with Revolut - nothing to be done here either. I’ve bought crypto woth Revolut.

the only part that you might get recourse is the transfer of the crypto to the other person. But I’m not sure how Revolut would deal. I’m sure that there’s a “are you sure” question. Etc.

At some point would your competency to manage your own money be questioned leading to an agency often with a slight fee taking over and simply leaving you with a tiny monthly allowance.

Why did you transfer so much, OP? 20,000? At first I thought your post was a joke but then reading the comments I realised you are actually being serious. You willingly transferred the money. Unfortunately I don’t think you are going to get a refund.

I know this is an old thread but I wondered if there was any update?
@Hello17378

You have no case against HSBC, but you should pursue your case against Revolut.

You voluntarily took the money out of main bank, put in Revolt, then gave to the scammers.
I'm pretty sure you won't be able to get anything as you weren't coerced into handing over the money, it wasn't a push payment. The main bank should put up warnings when your transferring the money, but it wouldn't necessarily red flag you putting it in Revolut as that's quite a common action. By all means plead your case but I think you might be unsuccessful.

OLD THREAD

As others have said, HSBC a are not obliged to do anything as you multiple times transferred money to Revolut over a period of time.

My husband is an investment banker. If you had invested your money wisely you would have had a decent return.

Giving the money over to Bitcoin trading is usually going to be subjected to your being scammed as is widely advertised all over the internet.

A lesson learnt that get rich quick schemes are not for the ordinary person and you will have your money lifted off you like taking candy from a baby.

At the top of Revolut's page -

'Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high‑risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more.

Two minutes that would have saved you losing your money.

@TemuSpecialBuy but you replied to my comment that was written at the time of the thread so why are you telling me off for being on an old thread

I don't think Temu was telling you off - they edited their post so I presume they removed their comment because the thread is so old & simply replaced it with OLD THREAD. This was revived by a PBP earlier today, hence all the interest it is now getting.

Oh Wow! My post has been automatically hidden - I didn't say anything! Apart from explaining to @itsallnewnow what Temu had done.

They hid my post which gave links to Revolut page where they clearly advise their customers what and what not to do and I quoted their advice.

Revolut will not refund when they have offered FREE advice telling their customers very clearly how to stay safe and protect their money.