Lloyds Bank issues urgent scam warning after customer loses £60,000: 'Don't fall for it!'

He came across endorsements about cryptocurrency on social media.

The man said: “I thought, ‘Why not have a go?’ I saw an advert with a link, and I left my details.

“The next day, ‘Seb’ called and said he would be my investment manager. He explained how things worked, and he seemed very knowledgeable.”

The supposed investment manager suggested initially investing £500.

The scammed customer complied and even sent over his paperwork, passport and driving licence.

He started to see his pot increase and was happy with the returns being made.

‘Seb’ soon called back to encourage the customer to buy more, claiming his money would double in the next two months.

The man added: “We’d be in our dream home in no time! So, I sent £15,000 we’d been saving, increased my overdraft and took out two loans.

“We started looking at houses. It took a few months, but we found the right one.”

When the customer told ‘Seb’ he needed his money back, the supposed investment manager said he did not have enough in his fund.

‘Seb’ also claimed he would need to increase his holding by another £25,000 before he could retrieve any cash.

The man continued: “Well, I couldn’t afford that. So, I logged onto my trading account…and it was empty.

“I haven’t been able to get hold of him since.”

The man was a victim of a so-called cryptocurrency investment scam.

The customer’s bank asked if he had done research on the provider, checked them out with the Financial Conduct Authority or if he was aware of the increased risk of cryptocurrency investment.