Cryptocurrency P2P trading rose up and became a hot money-making scheme in 2022. However, this scheme didn't go unnoticed by scammers. A considerable number of P2P trading courses that were released that year turned out to be pure scams. Artem Pervushin, a Russian Tiktoker, was among those who were running a gang that managed to scam people out of more than $220 000 by selling cryptocurrency P2P trading courses alongside some "additional services" as they claimed.
Alexander Kharchevnikov figured out how the crooks managed to scam people for such a sum. He recently posted a video on his YouTube channel with the results of the investigation. In this article, we pick out the most interesting bits from the video that we can learn from.
Introduction
2020-2021 was a crazy time for influencers! With the pandemic causing so much uncertainty, they saw their chance and went all out, selling everything from online courses promising remote earnings of thousands of dollars a month to courses on boosting self-confidence and even spiritual self-development. In 2022, The demand for "trading with quick results" training was off the charts. People were going crazy for information products that promised big earnings in the crypto world. P2P arbitrage became the holy grail of money-making schemes. It was like the surefire way to hit that "Loot" button, and everyone wanted in.
And this became an opportunity for course, sellers to make shit tons of money. They started charging anywhere from $1 000 to $16 000 for training programs. And this is where Artem Pervushin came in.
About Artem Pervushin
Artem Pervushin is a TikToker who posts motivational and provocative videos on his channel on the topic of making money. In his videos, he talked about his successful investments in the stock market, income from trading, and more. Pervushin ran his own YouTube channels, in which he talked in detail about the schemes he invented for making money. In the middle of 2022, he launched his training course on cryptocurrency P2P trading.
Why P2P?
P2P trading involves buying a cryptocurrency from one person at a lower price and then selling it at a slightly higher price to another. Due to the anti-Russian sanctions, this scheme turned out to be very popular this year. For Russians, cryptocurrency exchange is one of the most accessible ways to conduct financial transactions. Those who were professionally involved in P2P operations have raised a lot of money lately.
About the Course
Pervushin, the owner of the training program offered a course that would teach people how to make money through P2P trading. He promised that the students would make anywhere from 10 000 rubles ($100) a day. To promote it, the guy used: Instagram stories, free webinars, and sales funnels containing video sales letters (VSLs).
The course content was nothing new. Just like other fake courses; it collected all the available information online about P2P trading and put it together into a course. As expected, the majority of students failed to make the profits as promised by Pervushin. As a result, they began to demand a refund.
In response to demands and complaints, the assistant trainers hired by Pervushin initially tried to appease the students, but eventually, they stopped responding altogether, and some students were even blocked.
Adding to the student's frustration, the in-office training promised as one of the course incentives turned out to be questionable. Students were taken to an office where unknown individuals were making money transfers through a money transfer service to Turkey, but there was no mention of P2P trading in the office.
The Fall
During a certain stage of training, the organizers came up with an idea to give the students an opportunity to earn some extra money. They set up their own office in Turkey to facilitate the process. Here's how it worked:
- One partner would use the Golden Crown payment service to send money to Turkey.
- The second partner would then receive the money and convert it into cryptocurrency through a local resident or tourist.
- Finally, the cryptocurrency would be sent back to the first partner at the best possible rate, allowing them to make a profit of a few percent on the original amount sent.
It seemed like a win-win situation for the partners, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Pervushin's team invited the students to contribute money to their scheme, making it seem like a great opportunity. However, it turned out to be a scam.
Some of the students ended up losing large amounts of money, and they rightfully demanded a refund, not just for their education but also for the money that was stolen from them. It's really disappointing to see people being taken advantage of like that.
Pervushin and his team decided to disregard the demands of the victims. Later, rumors began to circulate that he had gone abroad and was selling his house remotely. He even left the Telegram group chat with his students. But then, to everyone's surprise, a story post appeared on his Instagram account, indicating that he was still active somewhere.
Some frustrated individuals, unhappy with Pervushin's behavior, showed up at his office. However, instead of finding the "great strategist," they ended up finding only employees, who were in the process of packing things as they were also leaving. The employees revealed that Pervushin had also cut ties with them and left them to deal with all the claims. In response, the victims threatened legal action against all of Pervushin's team members unless the stolen amount was returned.
Thankfully, after some resolution talks, the Pervushin eventually decided to return all the money that was taken through the “Turkish office” to the victims. However, the scammer did not return the money that was paid for training. As a form of compensation, Pervushin's team shared some crypto exchange schemes in a private chat, which were already widely available online. Although the students weren't entirely satisfied with this resolution, things settled down a little bit.
How to Deal with Online Scams
Now since we are talking about the topic of scams, it's important for us to point out some steps you can take whenever you feel like you have fallen into a scammer's trap:
- Call your bank
- Call the police
The first step is to contact your bank in a friendly manner. Inform them about the fraudulent transaction and request their assistance in making a recall request through their dedicated bank-to-bank communication system to the beneficiary bank abroad.
Once the recall request is received, the bank that initiated the fraudulent transfer will send a message to the beneficiary bank, asking for the payment's cancellation. If the funds have not yet been withdrawn by the scammers, there's a good chance that the money can be blocked and refunded.
If you can identify the beneficiary bank, it's also a good idea to reach out to them directly. You can use free online tools to locate the beneficiary bank based on the account number and bank code. Additionally, a quick search using the beneficiary bank's name along with keywords like "complaint" or "online contact" should help you find the right point of contact.
Remember, both victims and the police should never feel powerless when facing online financial fraud. There are systems in place and people who can help intercept fraudulent transactions. The key is to act quickly and not waste any time. So, call your bank, and if necessary, don't hesitate to reach out to the police.
"Many people think that there is nothing that can be done once a victim’s money is transferred abroad but there are systems in place to recall fraudulent transactions," said Tomonobu Kaya, Financial Crimes Coordinator at INTERPOL.
Conclusion
The victims of this case have hope that they can recover their funds. While it may seem cynical, they have gained experience, but at a high price.
The scammers, on the other hand, have lost much more — their reputation.
The Internet remembers everything, and one cannot hide abroad with fraudulently obtained money. They have a way of coming to an end. The chances of a scammer launching a decent project are slim. Most likely, Artem Pervushin will be stuck with the "scammer" label for a long time.
