The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has received a complaint from a California resident regarding cryptocurrency fraud.

A California resident told DFPI he met a woman on Hinge named Jennie who told him about something called DeFi Mining, where he would convert dollars to cryptocurrency and pool it with other miners. The victim borrowed approximately $90,000 and opened a Coinbase wallet at her instructions and sent cryptocurrency from Kraken to the Coinbase wallet. He was instructed to download a node that allowed the scammer access into his Coinbase wallet. The victim took out additional loans at Jeannie’s instructions, then she ceased communications with him.

This appears to be what is commonly called an “Advance Fee scheme,” which can take many forms, as discussed here: https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/advance-fee-schemes.

In addition, the DFPI cautions against so-called imposter scams, where the scammer pretends to be someone else, here, another legitimate website. More information is available here: https://consumer.ftc.gov/features/imposter-scams.

The DFPI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. To check whether an investment or financial service provider is licensed in California, consumers may contact the Department for questions or inquiries at ask.dfpi@dfpi.ca.gov or call toll-free at (866) 275-2677. If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding a consumer financial product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the DFPI at https://dfpi.ca.gov/file-a-complaint/.