A group of students in Tauranga have rallied round one of their teachers after he lost more than $5000 in a cryptocurrency scam.
Otūmoetai College teacher Deon Wessels had done some tentative research into crypto investment without committing any funds, but was coaxed into doing so via messaging platform WhatsApp.
The firm in question claimed to be a “legal company based in the UK”, made up of a team of “professional traders” in crypto exchange and coins.
After a convincing pitch, Wessels, a 66-year-old electronics teacher, took the plunge.
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“The woman I spoke to was so friendly,” he said. “We were chatting about football and all sorts of things. She said it was the best investment she’s ever made and that they were about to open offices in New Zealand and Australia. These people are very cunning.”
After his initial investment, made after he was promised a 25 per cent return within the first 24 hours, alarm bells started to ring.
“It wasn’t until later that they told me that the plan I had signed up to required me to invest $1000 every week,” said Wessels.
“That’s when I said ‘hold on, this is not right’. They then told me the funds were automatically reinvested every 24 hours, and I couldn’t…
