Crypto Exchange Debix Faces Love Scam Allegations, CFTC Charges $2.3M in Losses

Cryptocurrency exchange Debiex is under investigation after U.S. regulators say senior employees orchestrated romantic relationships with clients to defraud them of their money.

In a recent statement on January 19, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused Debix employees of misleading their customers to gain trust before they were ordered to open accounts with the crypto exchange.

Debix assured their customers that their money would be spent on crypto, but they misused the money for their personal gain.

“The CFTC's complaint alleges that unnamed officers and/or managers of Debix formed a friendly or romantic relationship with customers by telling false stories to gain trust and then soliciting them to open and make payments on business accounts with Debix.”

CFTC Charges Fake Digital Asset Platform with Online Romance Scams and Scams: https://t.co/RpskNapy7i

— CFTC (@CFTC) January 19, 2024

Although only five victims were identified in the two years, the regulator said more than $2 million was stolen from the pork industry.

“From approximately March 2022 to the present, Debix has received and misappropriated approximately $2.3 million from approximately five clients in this scheme,” the statement said.

With Valentine's Day just a few weeks away and February 12 approaching, individuals are urged to be careful. Be especially careful about linking crypto wallets or registering crypto services with romantic relationships.

In the year In February 2022, Cointelegraph reported that the FBI warned citizens during the week of Valentine's Day to be aware of an increasing number of romance scammers trying to convince individuals to send money to invest in crypto.

Related: Ex-iComtech CEO sentenced to five years in prison for wire fraud

In recent times, love scammers have bee exploited the popularity of crypto to mislead and exploit victims for financial gain.

Crypto exchange Binance came under fire in May 2023, when a Texas woman claimed the exchange was responsible for defrauding someone out of $8 million in a relationship that started on Tinder.

She argued that Binance was complicit because it provided exchange services to the fraudster.

However, U.S. Magistrate Judge Amos Mazant ruled that there was no evidence that Binns was involved in the theft.

Lately, however, dating scammers are taking a quick tactic to make their money, moving away from the traditional method of building trust and mass interactions on dating apps.

In December 2023, Cointelegraph reported that an emerging tactic among romance scammers was targeting approval phishing. This includes convincing the victim to sign a transaction, giving fraudsters access to a wallet and allowing them to withdraw money quickly.

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