Carly Rowena, a 37-year-old fitness trainer, was tricked into sending £5,716.60 worth of digital goods to a scammer who promised her huge returns on her crypto.
Carly Rowena
Carly Rowena, a British fitness and wellness advocate, is embarrassed as she recalls being tricked into handing over £5,700 ($7,450) worth of cash in a scam.
“I was like, it was too good to be true, and I still love that,” she told CNBC Make It.
Rowena transferred this crypto to an Instagram account she believes belongs to a financial professional who manages her friend’s investments. But after finding out her friend’s account had been hacked, Rowena says she felt “stupid.”
Here, Rowena shares her story with CNBC Make It, including the red flags she now knows to watch for when navigating the internet world.
1 tip to avoid scams
If something online seems “too good to be true,” that’s because it probably is, according to Rowena.
His top tip to avoid making the same mistake is to pause and think about an online proposal that seems too good to be true.
“It’s stopping and thinking, and talking to someone,” he told CNBC Make It last week.
“Giving yourself that opportunity to be the same, there is no opportunity that will just disappear in a moment. If it is something you deserve, and it is legal, it will not disappear from your hands like that.”
Rowena also recommends taking screenshots of relevant messages to keep as evidence for yourself – and, if necessary, the authorities – and contacting your bank and other trusted institutions for advice.
Rowena, 37, is an entrepreneur and content creator on Instagram, where she shares fitness and wellness tips and stories about her experience as a mom to her more than 187,000 followers. The influencer, who has 410,000 subscribers on YouTube and many followers on TikTok, has been living in Costa Rica with her husband and son since January.
How did the scam happen?
In March, Rowena saw a fake Instagram story, allegedly posted by a friend, claiming to have hired someone to handle bitcoin and make a lot of money.
After seeing the story, Rowena messaged her friend on Instagram to get the contact details of the person she claimed to be hiring – who turned out to be a scammer hacking her friend’s account.
“I’ve invested in crypto, which I’m going to throw my hands up and say I don’t fully understand,” Rowena told CNBC Make It.
“It was a very smart way to do it, because it was like: I’m already on it, but I’m not sure what to do … so that’s why I clicked on it.”
The scammer in question directed Rowena to a fake investment site, sent her a contract to look at and promised her a 50% return on her investment within 24 hours.
Rowena can even view an online dashboard that wants to show the promoter on his investment. But in reality, this dashboard was a fake, and Rowena’s crypto went straight into the fraudster’s pockets.
Rowena was told that she had made a fortune – but that, in order to withdraw the funds, she would have to pay a “commission” to a bogus investment company.
Carly Rowena
Rowena was then told that she had made a lot of money – but that, in order to withdraw the funds, she would have to pay a “commission” to a bogus investment company.
This made Rowena suspicious. He sent a message to his friend, who said his phone and social media accounts had been hacked – apparently as a way to defraud his fans and friends.
Result – ‘I felt stupid’
Rowena’s description of feeling ashamed when she realizes that she has been deceived is unusual.
Research by internet security company Akamai published on Tuesday into the impact of cybercrime on mental health shows that more than 60% of victims in the UK said they felt traumatized by what happened to them.
Of the 1,000 British cybercrime victims surveyed by Censuswide for Akamai, 59% admitted to feeling ashamed, and 67% said they felt ashamed after the attack.
More than half (55%) reported that they continue to have concerns following cybercrime, especially when using online services.
When someone is scammed, “there’s often a sense of guilt, or we may feel stupid, inappropriate for getting into the situation in the first place, no matter what kind of cybercrime we’re a victim of,” according to Tara Quinn-Cirillo, a chartered scientist. psychologist and fellow of the British Psychological Society,
It can be easy for people to let their guard down given the fast-paced nature of modern life, according to Quinn-Cirillo.
“It could be that one scam that we’re caught in, one episode of cybercrime, and it makes us question our ability, our ability, and our intelligence,” Quinn-Cirillo said. “We can cultivate shame, so we can be ashamed of it.”
This scandal can have a negative impact on people by stopping them from doing things they enjoy or working online. Rowena, for example, has never invested in crypto since she was scammed as she is too afraid of being scammed again.
‘Personal circuit breaker’
Victims of online fraud and scams are advised to contact institutions such as their bank or the police to see if their money can be refunded.
“It’s about making sure that wherever you go for information, it’s a reputable source,” Quinn-Cirillo told CNBC Make It. “All these big agencies will have advice on cybercrime, which is very important.”
If you find yourself in a situation like Rowena’s, Natalie Billingham, managing director at Akamai, recommends using a “personal circuit breaker.”
“Whether it’s an email, or a conversation: just take that second to stop and think, and that allows you to enter agreements. How do I test this link?” Billingham told CNBC.
“If you click too fast or act too fast, that’s usually when you’re left with a feeling of regret afterwards and you go down a path you’d rather not be on.”
Fraudsters persist
“When it’s online, it’s like something invisible, “You see that nothing is really true. No one will care. Then that makes you feel really stupid,” said Rowena.
The account that Rowena contacted on Instagram remains active on the platform, although it is a private profile. The same account is also on Facebook.
Rowena says she continues to receive direct messages from the scammer asking for money to open her accounts.
As long as the profile is still active, Rowena is concerned that other people may become victims of similar attacks. “I can only imagine how much money he has if he can find all those people,” he said.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, told CNBC Make It that fraudulent activity is not allowed on its platforms and that it is investigating the account in question.
“We continue to invest in fraud prevention on our platforms, and we are working closely with law enforcement and regulators to address this issue,” a Meta spokesperson said via email.
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