He invests 173,000 euros in gold and falls into the trap of scammers: “We really feel betrayed”

A retiree recently invested in gold to increase his savings through an expert website. But the man fell victim to scammers and lost all the money he had saved, more than 170,000 euros in total. His complaint was dismissed in France but an investigation is ongoing in Belgium to catch the crooks.

At the age of 62, the army retiree lost all his savings while trying to invest in gold, which is believed to be

“Place of Refuge”

. Determined to do things well, the man nevertheless did his research and identified a reputable website, which was praised.

Forbes

To carry out its operations, reports

TF1 information

.

“Life Was Beautiful”

Confident, the sixty-year-old approached the platform and committed after a very reassuring first telephone exchange, during which he was informed that the interest rate would be higher if he made a substantial investment. After paying 40,000 euros, the person received the first monthly payment of 266 euros as agreed.

Confident, the retiree therefore made another three payments, investing all his savings in the platform, i.e. 173,000 euros.

“For me, life was beautiful”

, the man recalls. But after eight months, after receiving 7,000 euros in interest, the payments suddenly stopped.

An ongoing investigation in Belgium

The retiree tried in vain to contact the platform to get an explanation. But no one answered him.

“I fell from a height

The sixty year old explains.

I was very disappointed because I am someone who trusts easily. We really feel betrayed. (…) I am also ashamed. »

The man called in an expert in financial scams who exposed a well-organized fraud organization.

“The original site has been copied. This is identity theft.”

Explains the expert, who describes the scam as:

“highly sophisticated”

.

So the certificates obtained by the victim are false and his gold is not stored in Switzerland as he thought. In France, the pensioner’s complaint was rejected. But the fraudulent company is headquartered in Belgium, where a criminal investigation is still underway. The 60-year-old who filed the civil suit is willing to be patient and hopes to see his money again one day.