I’ve recently received an email from another poor sod who’s been scammed by a fake crypto site, this time gmgroup [dot] pro.
The story is depressingly similar to many others I’ve heard – the investor was new to crypto, and this was the first time they’d invested.
They bought some crypto through what they thought was a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange after being directed to a fake Binance account, but when they tried to withdraw their funds after apparently making a profit, the problems started.
They were told they need to make two separate deposits of 10-20% of their total balance before their funds would be released.
Unfortunately, they paid the first deposit after which they were told it would appear in their wallet. It didn’t and this was when they became suspicious.
They refused to pay the second deposit and almost immediately received a call from someone claiming to represent a crypto company, demanding they pay 14% of their balance immediately or their account would be closed.
It was at this point that they contacted me. The penny had dropped, and they were fairly certain they’d been scammed, which unfortunately was the case.
The one silver lining is that they didn’t pay the second ‘deposit’, although the loss they incurred through their initial investment and subsequent payment is still painful.
The fake gmgroup website is not a particularly sophisticated effort – there are the usual giveaways such as poor grammar, no proper company or team details, pixelated graphics and no social channels which all raise immediate red flags.
Is Gmgroup Pro legit or a scam?
A quick bit of online sleuthing (ie a Google search) brings up a specific warning from the Financial Conduct Authority about gmgroup here which demonstrates how important research is before parting with your cash.
There are dozens of mentions of the company name in connection with scam activities, and the Trustpilot page even carries a warning about fake reviews that have been removed.
Gmgroup Pro is not a legitimate cryptocurrency trading exchange and is a scam site designed to fleece you of your cash.
Anyone familiar with crypto exchanges would spot the tell-tale signs of scam almost immediately, but it can be bewildering to beginners and those with little experience of financial services platforms.
You can read more about how to spot a scam website here.
Should I invest in the Gmgroup Bitcoin platform?
No. This is 100% a scam and any money sent to the platform will be lost.
Furthermore, if you’ve already fallen foul of this scam and you’re being bombarded with demands for money or crypto, do not send anything more to the scammers.
Block their emails and phone numbers and hope they’ll get bored and go away.
Unfortunately the funds you have sent have been lost, but at least you won’t lose any further money.