A reader contacted me after losing a substantial amount of money to a scam crypto trading platform called AMYE.
They’d found the OGC Wallet scam post and noticed similarities between this con and the AMYE scam which unfortunately they’d fallen victim to.
AMYE claims to be a crypto trading platform that also offers a debit/credit card enabling holders to ‘spend cryptocurrencies at more than 60 million merchants worldwide’.
Of course, it’s all nonsense and the scam follows a depressingly similar pattern to many of the others I’ve written about.
The user who contacted me explained that they had lost more than $15,000 to the AMYE scam after initially depositing funds with the promise of huge returns.
They were approached by a person calling themselves ‘Mr Michael’ who claimed AMYE was a ‘CFDC’ company, possibly referring to CFD (Contract for Difference) – a complex financial product which allows speculation on future price movements of an asset, such as crypto.
They first deposited £5,000 to their AMYE wallet, which after a short space of time had apparently seen an astronomical increase in value – to $63,000.
When they came to withdraw their funds and alleged profit, Mr Michael demanded 30% commission from the profit and refused to release any cash until this was paid.
‘Commission’ demands reached $13,000
Unfortunately, the victim has paid an eye-watering $12,090 in ‘commission’ after taking out multiple loans, and was still being asked to pay a further $910 before their money would be sent to them.
Of course, this won’t happen and it’s all part of the scammers plan to extract as much money as possible out of unsuspecting ‘investors’.
While considering how to pay the remaining sum the victim started trawling the internet and found our OGC Wallet post and realised that AMYE might be operating a similar scam.
If nothing else, they might have saved themselves nearly $1,000, and if they’d paid the final amount it’s likely further demands would have followed.
Once again this highlights the need to do thorough due diligence before engaging with any investment scheme or platform, whether it relates to crypto or more traditional financial products.
There are thousands of resources online to help you navigate the investing minefield, and if you’re still in doubt, visit forums such as reddit to see if anyone else is talking about the company or product you’re considering.
If you can’t find anything online, this is an immediate red flag and you should steer well clear of the company.
How can I tell AMYE is a scam?
In addition to a distinct lack of information about AMYE online which I’ve mentioned above, there are other things that give it away as well.
They include:
- The claimed profits are ridiculously high and should be an immediate warning sign.
- AMYE runs a cookie cutter website – a template that will have been replicated across multiple sites with no original content.
- All social media icons, footer links and other internal links simply redirect to the homepage.
- The links to the so-called Apple and Android mobile apps don’t go to the app official stores but trigger a direct link QR code.
- Poor use of English and grammar throughout.
- Nonsensical paragraphs of text which don’t always relate to the so-called purpose of the platform.
- No information about the company or team apart from a PO Box address which may be fictitious or not connected with the platform in any way.
- The domain was only bought in June 2022 and any information relating to the owners has been hidden.
- Warnings on several websites highlighting AMYE as a scam and urging people to steer clear.
Here’s an example of the messages I’ve received about the AMYE scam:
"I invested 116 USDT with AMYE in the first installment and then another 85 USDT but that has gone to another address which analyst suggested but not to my account. The analyst started giving advice and my initial investment became 4081 USDT within a day with the guidance of Analyst. They asked to pay 30% commission upfront before with drawing the profits. I paid 410 USDT as part commission in agreement with the analyst that partial withdrawal will be allowed, but after I paid this they asked for more. So, in the process, I lost 620 USDT to the scammers of AMYE. There is no customer contact nor any contact details of the customer care. Please do not enter into any transactions with these folks." AMYE scam warning
The AMYE ‘crypto trading platform’ is without doubt a scam and you should not engage with anyone representing them.
Do not deposit any funds here and, if you have already done so, accept that you’ve lost your money and don’t give the scammers any more.
The ‘commission’ demand is all part of the scam and you will lose this money as well as your principal.
The profits are not real – they’ve been artificially presented in order for you to feel compelled to part with more cash.
How do I get my money back from AMYE?
Unfortunately there’s little chance of getting your funds returned to you and sending more money to the scammers will only increase your losses.
The cryptosphere is largely unregulated and there is no redress or hope of compensation from bodies such as the UK’s Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
You’ll need to write off your losses and put it down to experience – a difficult decision to make but one that will ultimately prevent you from losing more money.
Break off all contact with the scammers by blocking their phone numbers, email addresses and any other method they’ve used to communicate with you, such as Telegram or WhatsApp.
How to avoid crypto scams
Crypto scammers are often relatively unsophisticated and usually a quick hunt around their website will tell you to steer clear.
Always do a thorough search of the internet – if it’s a scam you’ll usually find warnings and reports from previous victims. If you find nothing, that’s just as bad.
Use the information on the checklist above to help you – a lot of the tell-tale signs with the AMYE scam are the same with other scam sites.
You can also read our post about how to spot fake cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms.
If you come across a crypto platform/investment scheme you suspect to be a scam, get in touch.
