Traduex.com Scam — How I Lost My Money To A Romance Scam And Got It All Back

I received a WhatsApp message from a wrong number.The sender apologized, I thought that would be the end of it. Instead she introduced herself as "Claire," and joked that she apparently owed me dinner after interrupting my afternoon.

The conversation lasted maybe ten minutes before we both went on with our day.

Our chats became more frequent. Claire looked about thirty-six years old. Unlike many fake profiles I'd seen over the years, her life appeared normal.

After our first conversation, she suggested a video call. She looked like the same person from her display photograph so it erased all my doubts.

we spoke almost every day. 

Usually in the mornings before she claimed to leave for work, and again late in the evening whenever she was done with work. The conversations weren't romantic at first.

When I mentioned I enjoyed cooking, she'd send recipes she grew up with and ask whether I'd ever tried making them. When my son graduated from high school, she remembered the date without me reminding her and sent a congratulatory message before the ceremony even started. 

We began talking about more personal things. She told me she had been engaged once but ended the relationship after discovering her fiancé had hidden significant debt from her. I shared how difficult life had been after losing my wife. Neither of us tried to rush the relationship. It simply evolved.

One day Claire asked whether I’ve ever considered digital assets investing. I told her I don't understand crypto. She didn't try to convince me Instead she told me most people should not invest in something they didn’t fully understand.

The more we spoke, the more cryptocurrency came up more in our chats. She explained that part of her business profits were invested because cash sitting in a bank account lost purchasing power over time.

Sometime later we scheduled another video call. She shared her screen and walked me through what appeared to be a trading platform. 

The platform was called Traduex.com.

She explained how she purchased USDT through Coinbase before transferring it to invest. Her dashboard looked good. There were candlestick charts, order histories, account balances, and customer support options. Everything appeared professional.

I researched cryptocurrency. I saw loads of information online. When I told Claire I was still curious, she suggested I start with an amount small enough that losing it wouldn't affect my finances. So I transferred $2,500 to her. She helped me buy USDT on Coinbase before sending it to them. Within a few days, my account balance had increased significantly. I assumed the market had simply moved in my favour. To test everything, I requested a withdrawal of $500. an hour later, the money arrived in my checking account. That successful withdrawal legitimized them.

I decided to increase my investment. First another $8,000. Then $15,000. Later, after taking a loan, I transferred $60,000. By the end of the month, the platform showed a balance exceeding $260,000. Claire and I even discussed meeting in person.

Everything changed when I tried to withdraw enough money to sort out the loan. The withdrawal remained pending for two days. Then I received a message from customer support. 

I needed to deposit a fee of $15,000 for withdrawals to continue. I read the message three times. It didn't make sense. If they were holding hundreds of thousands of dollars that supposedly belonged to me, why would they require more? 

When I asked Claire, She insisted these reviews were routine. She encouraged me to complete the payment immediately to avoid delays. 

Instead of sending more money, I started searching Traduex.com online. I saw lots of reviews calling them  scammers. I confronted Claire with what I had found. She dismissed the stories as misinformation created by competitors. When I refused to deposit another dollar, she blocked me.

While browsing a cryptocurrency forum, I found a discussion where several users were talking about tracing stolen crypto. CipherTrace came up repeatedly, so I decided to contact them on - www.theciphertrace.com I completed their intake process by submitting every piece of information I had saved. 

An investigator reviewed my case and walked me through the transaction history, explaining details that I hadn't understood on my own. As the investigation progressed, they asked for more screenshots and records to strengthen the timeline. I continued cooperating throughout the process and in the end they got all my money back.