The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint regarding www.acfnygp.top, a website claiming to be a cryptocurrency trading platform.
The investor learned of acfnygp.top, from an individual, Jack Kim communicating through WhatsApp, Hinge App and Line.App. The investor believed she was in a romantic relationship with the individual. The investor invested a total of approximately $539,000 through the acfnygp.top website. The investor was guided through the process of investing in cryptocurrency by Jack Kim. She was also provided the address of www.foxtradingpp.com, which she stated appeared as the www.acfnygp.top website.
Over a short period of time, the investor’s account grew to a purported balance of over $1million. The investor chose to withdraw some of the funds. Upon requesting the withdrawal, the investor was notified that she must pay a 20% tax to the IRS within 7 days on the profits of her investment.
The investor paid the fee and again requested some of the funds be withdrawn. Acfnygp.top again required the investor to pay additional fees. These fees were for supposed anti-money laundering and fraud regulations that needed to be followed. The investor paid the additional fees.
The investor remains unable to withdraw the funds. These allegations have not been verified by DFI.
This appears to be what is commonly called and “Advance Fee Fraud”. Learn more about advance fee fraud.
DFI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. Investment professionals need to be licensed with DFI to offer investments to Washington residents. In addition, most investment products sold need to be registered with DFI. To check the licensing status and to find out if there are any complaints against an investment professional or investment product, please visit FINRA Brokercheck or contact the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division at (360) 902-8760. If you live outside of Washington State, contact your state securities regulator.
If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding an investment product or service, they may file a complaint with the Securities Division.
Additional Resources
Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers