The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint regarding Eliza Lim and a purported cryptocurrency exchange platform, Swappro.net. It appears Swappro.net may be an active website.
The investor learned about Swappro.net through Eliza Lim (“Lim”), who initially contacted the investor through a “wrong number” text. Lim claimed to be living in New York and running a business in Manhattan. She likely provided a fictitious name and address. It appears their communication shifted at some point to WhatsApp. Over a period of several weeks Lim developed a friendship with the investor and after gaining the investor’s trust, convinced the investor to join her in trading in gold (XAU) derivatives on Swappro.net. Lim walked the investor through the steps to load applications for Coin Wallet, Cash App, and Coinbase. It appears she then guided the investor on how to deposit funds and use cryptocurrency to make the trades.
The investor deposited $1,000 and saw an immediate profit in the account. The following day, Lim tried to persuade the investor to deposit another $10,000, claiming she would contribute an additional $7,000 so they could trade together in larger transactions. The investor came close to investing the funds but, after Lim pushed for the money one too many times, became suspicious and decided not to. The investor was presumably unable to withdraw the initial $1,000 or purported gains.
These allegations have not been verified by DFI.
This appears to be what is commonly called an “Advance Fee Fraud”, which can take many forms. This also appears to be what is commonly called a Pig Butchering Scheme or Romance Scam.
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.
How to Report
If you believe you are a victim of this alleged scam:
- Report to FBI
- If you are outside Washington State: contact your local Securities Regulator
- If you are a Washington State resident: Submit a Complaint for statistical purposes.
Additional Resources
Customer Advisory: Avoid Forex, Precious Metals, and Digital Asset Romance Scams
Protecting Yourself from Financial Fraud
Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers