The victim of the AE Coin / ZPM Coin scam who contacted me was added to a Telegram group at random before being conned out of his cash.
At first he was shown screenshots of tempting ‘guaranteed’ earnings on this fake crypto trading platform by members of the group.
He was connected with an ‘analyst’ who encouraged him to set up an account on the site and deposit crypto.
It wasn’t long until his account was showing big profits and it was at this point that he decided to withdraw his funds.
‘Analyst’ demanded 30% commission
As soon as he submitted a request he was told he’d need to pay a 30% ‘commission’ in order to release his money. This was payable on both his initial deposit and the profit.
He asked if he could pay this from the profit on his account but was told this wasn’t allowed and that the commission should be paid in crypto through Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
After this, they also starting demanding that he deposited more money into his account, which he refused to do.
When he told them that he thought the platform was fake, the conversation took on a darker note and they threatened to send ‘underworld people’ to find him.
How to tell AE Coin / ZPM Coin is a scam operation
AE Coin appears to be a clone of another crypto scam platform called ZPM Coin and bears all the classic characteristics of a fake site.
Some of things that give it away include:
- In the web address the site is call AE-Coin, yet the page and tab title read ZPM Coin.
- The domain name was only registered two months ago at the time of writing.
- The site is clearly amateurish and riddled with poor grammar.
- There is no information about the company, people or business address.
- There are no social media channels.
- The links on the site most divert to a sign-up page.
- There is little information about the platform online or in forums.
- There are no mobile apps for either Apple or Android.
- The footer address states ‘Copyright 2019-2030’.
What can I do if I’ve been scammed?
Unfortunately there’s very little the authorities can do as there’s hardly any regulation surrounding crypto.
However, you can report scams to fraud organisations such as Action Fraud and there are companies that work to track down the scammers.
They mainly deal with high value cases, ie above $1 million, but new companies are formed all the time so it might be worth a Google search.
If you do find a company willing to take on your case, do your due diligence to ensure they’re a bona fide operation.
If anyone contacts you claiming to represent this site, do not engage them in conversation and block them straight away.
Have you had any experience with this platform? Kindly share your thoughts in the comment section to help others stay informed and safe.