This influencer was scammed out of thousands in crypto — and has a tip to help you avoid fraud

Carly Rowena, a British fittingness and wellness influencer, is embarrassed arsenic she recalls being duped into handing implicit £5,700 ($7,450) worthy of cryptocurrency successful a scam.

"I was like, it was excessively bully to beryllium true, and I inactive fell for it," she told CNBC Make It.

Rowena transferred the crypto to an Instagram relationship she believed belonged to a concern nonrecreational managing investments for a friend. But aft discovering that her friend's relationship had been hacked, Rowena says she felt "stupid."

Here, Rowena shares her communicative with CNBC Make It, including the reddish flags she present knows to ticker for erstwhile navigating the online world.

If thing online appears "too bully to beryllium true," that's due to the fact that it astir apt is, according to Rowena.

Her apical portion of proposal to debar making the aforesaid mistake is to intermission and deliberation cautiously astir a proposition online that appears excessively bully to beryllium true.

"It's stopping and thinking, and it's having a speech with someone," she told CNBC Make It past week.

"It's giving yourself that accidental to beryllium like, nary accidental volition conscionable vanish successful a second. If it's the close happening for you, and it's legit, it's not going to vanish astatine your fingertips similar that."

Rowena besides recommends screenshotting applicable messages to support arsenic grounds for yourself — and, if needed, the authorities — arsenic good arsenic contacting your slope and different trusted institutions for advice.

Rowena, 37, is an entrepreneur and contented creator connected Instagram, wherever she shares fittingness and wellness proposal and stories connected her acquisition arsenic a ma to her much than 187,000 followers. The influencer, who besides has 410,000 subscribers connected YouTube and a sizable pursuing connected TikTok, has lived successful Costa Rica with her hubby and lad since January.

After seeing the story, Rowena messaged her person connected Instagram to get the interaction details for the idiosyncratic she'd claimed to prosecute — who, it turns out, was a scammer who had hacked her friend's account.

"I had invested immoderate wealth into crypto, which I'm going to clasp my hands up and accidental I don't afloat understand," Rowena told CNBC Make It.

"It was specified a clever mode of doing it, due to the fact that it was like: I'm already successful it, but I'm not definite what to bash ... truthful that was wherefore I clicked connected to it."

The fraudster successful question directed Rowena to a fake concern platform, sent her a declaration to look implicit and promised her a 50% instrumentality connected her investments wrong 24 hours.

Rowena could adjacent presumption an online dashboard purporting to amusement the influencer her investments. But successful reality, this dashboard was a fake, and Rowena's crypto went consecutive to the scammer's pockets.

Rowena was past told she'd made a large woody of wealth — but that, to merchandise the funds, she would person to wage the fake concern steadfast a "commission."

This struck Rowena arsenic suspicious. She messaged her friend, who said her telephone and societal media accounts had been hacked — seemingly arsenic a mode to con her followers and friends.

Rowena's statement of feeling shame erstwhile she realized she'd been scammed is not uncommon.

Research from cybersecurity steadfast Akamai published Tuesday connected the interaction of cybercrime connected intelligence wellness shows that implicit 60% of victims successful the U.K. said they felt traumatized by what happened to them.

Of 1,000 British victims of cybercrime surveyed by Censuswide for Akamai, 59% admitted to feelings of shame, portion 67% said they felt embarrassed aft the onslaught took place.

More than fractional (55%) reported continuing to acquisition anxiousness pursuing the cybercrime, particularly erstwhile utilizing online services.

When idiosyncratic is subjected to a scam, "there is often guilt, oregon we mightiness consciousness stupid, incompetent for getting into a concern successful the archetypal place, immoderate the benignant of cybercrime unfortunate we are," according to Tara Quinn-Cirillo, a chartered scientist and subordinate chap of The British Psychological Society,

It tin beryllium casual for radical to fto down their defender fixed the accelerated quality of modern life, according to Quinn-Cirillo.

"It mightiness beryllium that that 1 scam that we person got caught up in, that 1 occurrence of cybercrime, has past made america uncertainty our ability, our competence, our intellect," Quinn-Cirillo said. "We tin make shame, truthful we tin beryllium embarrassed astir it."

This shame tin past negatively interaction radical by putting them disconnected doing the things they bask oregon being progressive online. Rowena, for instance, hasn't invested successful crypto since she was scammed arsenic she's excessively frightened of being defrauded again.

Victims of online fraud and scams are advised to interaction institutions similar their slope oregon the constabulary to spot if their wealth tin beryllium clawed back.

"It's astir making definite that wherever you're going for information, that it's a reputable source," Quinn-Cirillo told CNBC Make It. "All of these large institutions volition person proposal connected cybercrime, which is truly important."

If you find yourself successful a concern similar Rowena, Natalie Billingham, a managing manager astatine Akamai, recommends applying a "personal circuit breaker."

"Whether it's an email, whether it's a conversation: conscionable instrumentality that 2nd to halt and to think, and that past allows you to enactment successful spot protocols. How bash I cheque this link?" Billingham told CNBC.

"If you rapidly click oregon rapidly bash something, oftentimes that's erstwhile afterward you're near with a feeling of regret and past pulled down a way you'd alternatively not beryllium on."

"When it's online, it's similar an invisible thing, "You recognize that nothing's truly real. No one's going to care. And past that makes you consciousness truly stupid," Rowena said.

The relationship Rowena interacted with connected Instagram remains progressive connected the platform, though is simply a backstage profile. A akin relationship is besides connected Facebook.

Rowena says she continues to person nonstop messages from the scammer requesting a interest to unlock her funds.

As agelong arsenic the illustration remains active, Rowena is acrophobic different radical could autumn prey to the aforesaid attack. "I tin lone ideate however overmuch wealth she has if she's got each of those people," she said.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, told CNBC Make It that fraudulent enactment is not allowed connected its platforms and it is investigating the relationship successful question.

"We are continually investing successful protections against fraud connected our platforms, and enactment intimately with instrumentality enforcement and regulators to tackle this issue," a Meta spokesperson said via email.