I fear the worst for the reader who's fallen for Coinbrokerz.io, which claims to be a investment website for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
"Trading cryptocurrency is enjoyable, easy and can be extremely profitable," its website boasts.
The poor chap who I'll just call by his first name Dennis began by putting in £265, and was told that a personal broker would manage his account.
Within days he was informed that clever trading meant that his investment had ballooned to £5,000 and then £15,000.
At which point he naturally thought about taking out some of the money. But in order to make a withdrawal, Dennis was told that he had to take out insurance and a "profit protection" policy costing £1,999.
Next he was told that he had to pay tax of almost £2,700 on the profit. He asked if this couldn't simply be taken out of his account but was told this wasn't possible.
By this time, he was assured that his balance had risen to £18,000 but now he had to pay bank-handling charges of more than £1,500 before any money could be released.
In total, Dennis has handed over around £6,500, savings that he'd put aside for his family to cover his funeral costs, and he cannot recover a penny.
“My bank won't refund me, saying it's not fraud because I paid it over willingly, even though I say that this website obtained money under false pretences,” he said.
Coinbrokerz, registered in Arizona, has not responded to my emails. It claims to be based in London's Docklands financial districts, giving the address 25 Cabot Square, 1 Canada Square, London - these are two different places and I can't find any trace of them at either.
Its terms and conditions give the name Qossla Holdings Limited, apparently based in Cyprus and a subsidiary of Bitcom Limited, Suite 305, Griffith Corporate Center, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean.
It is named on a warning list published by the Financial Conduct Authority, which says: “This firm is not authorised by us and is targeting people in the UK.
"Based upon information we hold, we believe it is carrying on regulated activities which require authorisation.
"We strongly advise you to only deal with financial firms that are authorised by us, and check the Financial Services Register to ensure they are.”