By Jackson Godwin. Cybersecurity Analyst & Penetration Tester.

I Started Asking Questions

The request for a “verification fee” didn’t make sense.

If the platform was holding my investment, why couldn’t it simply deduct the fee from my account balance?

Instead, they insisted I send more Bitcoin before I could withdraw my own money.

When I questioned customer support, they gave me vague answers.

When I asked my online girlfriend, she said:

“That’s just how cryptocurrency platforms work.”

Something finally felt wrong.

I Tried to Withdraw Everything

To test the platform, I attempted to withdraw my entire balance.

The request was rejected.

A few minutes later, another message appeared.

“Your account has been temporarily restricted due to unusual activity.”

Then came another demand.

This time, they claimed I needed to pay an additional “security deposit” to unlock my account.

That was the moment I realised this wasn’t an investment platform.

It was a trap.

I Investigated the Website

Instead of sending more Bitcoin, I started researching the platform.

I noticed several warning signs:

The company wasn’t regulated by any recognised financial authority.
There was no verifiable business address.
The customer support phone number didn’t work.
Online reviews from independent sources warned that people couldn’t withdraw their money.
Several cybersecurity forums had already identified the website as a cryptocurrency scam.

The profits displayed on my dashboard had never been real.

They were simply numbers designed to convince me to keep investing.

Then She Disappeared

I confronted the woman I had been speaking to.

I asked her directly:

“Is this platform a scam?”

She replied with only one sentence.

“You’re making a mistake by not trusting me.”

After that, the messages became less frequent.

A day later, her account disappeared.

The dating profile was gone.

The messaging account stopped responding.

The person who had spoken to me every day for months vanished overnight.

The Romance Was Only Part of the Scam

That was the hardest part to accept.

The relationship had never been the goal.

It was simply the method used to earn my trust.

The compliments.

The daily conversations.

The promises about our future.

The encouragement to invest.

Every step had been carefully planned.

The scam wasn’t about cryptocurrency.

It was about manipulating emotions.

Warning Signs of Bitcoin Romance Scams

Looking back, I recognised several red flags.

🚩 They Introduced Investing Instead of Asking for Money

Rather than requesting money directly, they encouraged me to “invest.”

That made the scam appear more legitimate.

🚩 They Recommended One Specific Platform

Instead of suggesting a well-known cryptocurrency exchange, they insisted I use a particular website.

Scammers often control fake investment platforms that display false profits.

🚩 The Profits Looked Too Good

My account balance grew quickly with almost no apparent risk.

Legitimate investments involve risk, and unusually high or guaranteed returns should always be treated with caution.

🚩 I Couldn’t Withdraw My Money

The moment I wanted my money back, new fees and excuses appeared.

Legitimate platforms do not normally require repeated cryptocurrency payments simply to release your own funds.

How to Protect Yourself

If someone you meet online starts discussing cryptocurrency:

Be cautious if they recommend a specific investment platform.
Research the company independently.
Verify whether it is properly regulated in the relevant jurisdiction.
Never invest simply because someone you trust recommends it.
Be suspicious of platforms that show large profits but make withdrawals difficult.
If someone combines romance with investment advice, slow down and verify everything independently.

Final Thoughts

The scammer never hacked my wallet.

They never stole my passwords.

They never broke into my computer.

Instead, they convinced me to send my Bitcoin voluntarily.

That experience taught me a lesson I will never forget:

If someone you’ve never met encourages you to invest through a platform they’ve chosen, verify the platform before you invest—even if you trust the person.

In cybersecurity, trust should never replace verification.

Sometimes the most dangerous attack isn’t against your device.

It’s against your emotions.

About the Author

Jackson Godwin is a Cybersecurity Consultant specialising in Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT), Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC), ISO/IEC 27001, PCI DSS, Cloud Security, AI Security and Digital Risk Management.

Through JacksonTechnology.com.ng, he publishes cybersecurity awareness stories, ethical hacking tutorials, compliance guides and practical online safety advice to help individuals and organisations recognise cyber threats, avoid online scams and stay secure in an increasingly connected world.