A Plano veteran lost at least $220,000 in a cryptocurrency scam, KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported.
.James Kachel, a US Army veteran who served in the Gulf War, worked for the US Postal Service for 16 years. After leaving that position last year, he began researching how to use cryptocurrency to earn extra money, NBC5 reported.
Kachel told the TV station that she received a WhatsApp message from someone named Katherina who offered to teach her about investing in cryptocurrencies.
He first made a small transaction in July 2021 on what he believed to be a cryptocurrency exchange, according to NBC5.
Over time, his confidence grew and so did the amount of money he invested, the report says.
After about six months of trading and over 100 pages of messages, Kachel was led to believe that he had won $4 million.
But when he tried to collect the money, he ran into a roadblock and an evasion.
As the weeks passed, Kachel realized it was a scam. The app she used was a fake clone of a real crypto market, according to the report.
Kachel filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, according to NBC5. Along with his money, his profile on the app has disappeared.
Kachel told NBC5 that she decided to share her story to help prevent others from suffering the same fate.
The Federal Trade Commission website offers advice on how to avoid cryptocurrency scams.
