CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was a fight Angela Sloan didn’t expect.
Sloan, a York County resident fell victim to a cryptocurrency scam after she invested in a digital platform.
A few months ago Sloan found out she was the victim of a scam, all while she was battling cancer.
"Here I was in the fight of my life and I was in the fight of my life security," Sloan said. "The fact I wasn’t asked for any personal information ... I let my guard down."
What started as Facebook conversations about cryptocurrency eventually led Sloan to invest hundreds into the digital platform.
What Sloan didn’t know was the platform she was trading on was fake.
"What moved from the trading platform back into my account were counterfeit coins," Sloan recalls. "I didn’t even know there was such a thing as counterfeit coins."
The value of the investment Sloan lost is now estimated to be nearly $2 million.
Scams like the one Sloan fell victim to are getting more difficult to navigate as technology develops.
A United Nations report says the growth of cryptocurrency exchanges, and even online gambling platforms, are becoming vessels for high crimes like money laundering.
According to Forbes, even federal agencies are being duped by complex crypto scams.
As co-founder of Lionsgate Network, digging into cryptocurrency scams is part of Bezalel Raviv's job.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
"We’re analyzing crypto transactions," Raviv said. "We’re looking at organized crime."
The firm tracks and attempts to recover stolen cryptocurrency funds. It has reportedly been successful in identifying and intercepting crypto accounts.
But another layer to an already complicated issue is finding partnerships with law enforcement agencies.
"It's our greatest pain," Raviv said. "We want to find better conversations with the FBI with local police, Homeland Security ... and we’re seeing that solution now more than ever."
The problem is that widespread solutions have yet to be found.
Raviv said firms like his are trying to work with law enforcement. Meanwhile, law enforcement has its own limitations in trying to break down these scams, catch the people responsible and get the money back.
Contact Kia Murray at kmurray@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.