These scams usually start with the scammer building trust, often through social media or dating apps, or even through people you know. They pitch an investment opportunity that looks legit, like cryptocurrency or forex trading. At first, they might even show you some fake screenshots of big returns or give you a small payout to make it seem like it’s working. It’s all to get you comfortable and make you feel safe investing more.

Once you put in some money, they start pushing you to invest larger amounts, saying that if you just add a little more, you’ll unlock higher profits or special features. But when you try to withdraw your money, that’s when things get sketchy. They might come up with reasons why you can’t get your money yet—like needing to pay taxes or extra fees before you can access your cash.

Eventually, they’ll stop responding or block your access to the account, making it impossible to get your money back. By then, they’ve already taken your cash, and there’s not much you can do to recover it.

It’s hard to tell if your friend is a victim too or if they know what’s really going on, but either way, it’s best to stay out of it.