![]() ![]() When NPR reached out to federal regulators in the U.K., authorities said SpireBit has no real connection to SBT Investments. On its website, SpireBit claims its corporate parent company is SBT Investments Limited. That image is named in the photo database as "Smiling senior businesswoman wearing glasses." Similarly, the LinkedIn profile photo for SpireBit's supposed CEO, Sarah Swanson, was also traced back to Shutterstock. LinkedIn profiles for SpireBit's founder and CEO used stock imagery pulled from Shutterstock. "Individual consultations, training in trading from scratch, trade and technical support are just a small part of the services we provide," according to its website. SpireBit pitches itself as something of a cryptocurrency investment trading platform for beginners. Fake LinkedIn profiles and allegations of identity theft compound mystery of SpireBit We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the activities of our company are regulated according to the legislation of the country in which the head office of the company is located," SpireBit said in a Telegram message, which also included language about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies that appears to be lifted from another website. "We have received your inquiry regarding the loss of money by our clients. Instead, it sent a statement saying cryptocurrencies are volatile and losing money is always possible when trading in crypto. SpireBit declined to be interviewed for this story or to answer questions about any individual case. "But it's always after owing them some other amount." "They were always promising me they're going to send me money back," Madan said. Like Lantsman, he received multiple forged banking documents fabricated to look like they were from institutions working with SpireBit. He invested $137,000, then tried to withdraw it. He ended up losing all of the money he made from selling his house to the scam. Aleksey Madan, 68, who also was born in the former Soviet Union, recently sold a home in Indiana and became involved with SpireBit. Lantsman's story closely resembles that of another man who spoke with NPR. Lina O'Connor, Naum Lantsman's daughter, in her father's home in Los Angeles, Calif. ![]() It said Lantsman must send SpireBit 2% of the amount he was requesting as a "security measure." (A representative for Barclays confirmed that the document was forged.) SpireBit sent over a document purporting to be from Barclays, the British bank. Lantsman discovered this when he attempted to withdraw money from his account. The charts on his SpireBit account depicting earnings growth were fake. "When he logged on to SpireBit, he saw a very compelling fake platform that looked like money was being deposited, and that money was growing," said his son, Daniel Lantsman.īut it wasn't growing at all. Eventually, Lantsman poured his entire life savings, totaling more than $340,000, into the SpireBit account. Over several months, Pavel goaded him to invest more and more of his money. It seemed promising: When he signed in to his account, it appeared as if that investment had nearly doubled in a matter of weeks. Lantsman had initially transferred $500 into his SpireBit account. When Naum Lantsman logged in to his SpireBit account, it appeared as if his investment was growing, but it was not. Its website says it is an "international financial broker" based in London and helps people invest in cryptocurrencies. ![]() ![]() One day he was scrolling on Instagram and stumbled upon a post from a company called SpireBit. "I lost a lot of clients because a lot of them, restaurant and bars, they closed," Lantsman said.Īt the same time, his retirement savings, which he managed himself, took a hit as the pandemic gyrated stock markets. But many of them shut their doors when lockdown orders went into effect. He runs a business selling equipment and supplies to restaurants in the Los Angeles area. Lantsman, 74, turned to cryptocurrency investments after the pandemic upended his life. "I heard, and I read, but somehow I thought that I am not going to be one of them," he said. But Lantsman, in fact, was one of a growing number of people who've fallen victim to cryptocurrency scams. Every time he'd log on to the trading platform he was using, it looked like he was reaping windfall profits. Naum Lantsman was sure his cryptocurrency investments were making money. He fell victim to a cryptocurrency scam and ended up losing his entire life savings. ![]()
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