I thought I met a great guy on Hinge – then he scammed me and took my life’s savings, forcing me to live in a trailer

CRYPTOCURRENCY seems to be all the rage right now, but there can be some serious downsides to investing in digital currency.

For one young woman, it meant losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and it happened all because a Hinge match stole her investments.

A 24-year-old named Nicole Hutchinson told CBS News how she lost her life savings to a scammer on HingeCredit: CBS News

The scammer convinced her to invest in cryptocurrency, but he was actually pocketing all of her investmentsCredit: CBS News

Nicole Hutchinson, a 24-year-old from Tennessee, told CBS News that she lost $390,000 of her and her father’s money after falling for an online dating scam.

Nicole had just inherited $280,000 from her mother’s death and planned on using the money to help her family start a new life in California.

But before the big move, Nicole started chatting with a man supposedly named “Hao” on Hinge.

She said she felt a strong connection with Hao after he told her he was from the same city in China from where she was adopted.

Then Hao suggested she start investing in cryptocurrency and assured her he was experienced with it.

Nicole told CBS News: “I’m like: ‘I’ve never invested in my life.’

“I don’t know anything about cryptocurrency either.

“So I was very skeptical.”

Despite her skepticism, Nicole signed up for an account on Crypto.com, a legitimate site.

After she made the account, Hao began sending her links to a cryptocurrency exchange platform that allowed her to transfer her money.

Her investments started small, but she grew confident when she saw her money inflate.

Eventually, she began putting more in and got her dad involved too.

In a few months, both of their accounts showed a combined worth of $1.2 million, but when they tried to cash out, she learned that they would have to pay a “tax bill” of about $380,000.

That’s when Nicole realized her and her father’s cryptocurrency investments were actually going into Hao’s pockets.

“I messed up my life. I messed up my dad’s life,” she said. 

According to cryptocurrency scam investigator Rich Sanders, Nicole and her father were the victims of what he calls a “pig-butchering scam.”

“The name really comes from the fattening up before the slaughter,” Sanders told CBS News.

He said the Hutchinsons’ money started in a legitimate cryptocurrency account, but when Nicole used the links Hao had sent her, she was actually sending her money to his digital wallets.

Sanders added that Hao was likely part of an organized crime ring that targets those inexperienced with digital currency.

Nicole said she and her father are now living in an RV and they hope their story can serve as a warning to others.

“I just hope others don’t have to fall for it.

“So if me sharing this story helps that, then I’m so grateful for that opportunity,” she explained.

Unfortunately, this type of scam is not uncommon.

Previously, one man admitted he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to a cryptocurrency scam.

Now, he’s shared all of the red flags to look out for when investing in digital currency to avoid potential issues.

On the other side of things, one teen was bullied at school until he became a millionaire thanks to Bitcoin investments.

He now makes $20,000 while he sleeps.

Nicole hopes that by sharing her story, other people won’t meet a similar fateCredit: CBS News