The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint from a Washington resident regarding xclusiveRT.com. The website is no longer active, but the investor described it as an online trading platform.
The investor was introduced to xclusiveRT.com from an individual she met through the dating application, Hinge. After a few weeks of communicating, the individual mentioned an investment opportunity to the investor. The individual told the investor that the opportunity allowed him to purchase a house in Palm Springs, buy two aircrafts, and invest in other investments.
The individual referred the investor to his accounts manager named, “Marcus Warren.” Marcus instructed the investor on how to upload funds to Crypto.com, how to purchase Bitcoin, and then transfer the Bitcoin to the xclusiveRT.com website. The investor lost approximately $350,000 in the form of investments and penalties/fees. When the investor tried to withdraw her funds, she was told she would need to pay different types of fees to access her funds.
The individual from Hinge was supposedly a pilot who sent the investor pictures of himself holding notes addressed to the investor to prove his identity. Research online revealed that the photos provided to the investor were altered from an unrelated individual’s Instagram account.
Below is the photo found on the Instagram account and the photo sent to the investor by the purported individual she met on Hinge. (The Department was able to contact the individual in the photo who stated that he has no involvement in this scam).
This appears to be what is commonly called “Advance Fee Fraud”, which can take many forms. Learn more about advance fee fraud.
This also appears to be a Pig Butchering Scheme. Learn more about pig butchering schemes.
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 formal complaint with the Securities Division.
Additional Resources
Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers