Des Plaines woman loses $108,000 in crypto scam, police say

A Des Plaines woman was scammed out of an estimated $108,000 by someone she met on a dating app, police said Monday.

The woman was persuaded to invest the sum in cryptocurrency in May or early June, according to a Des Plaines police news release. The woman spoke with the scammer using social media and communication apps, police said.

The scammer created an account on a Bitcoin payment system, and she sent the money, police said.

After visiting her bank, the woman learned the system wasn’t a reputable cryptocurrency exchange and that she was unable to reclaim her money or convert it to legitimate currency, police said.