Investors in Coscoin, a purported cryptocurrency trading site, are distraught to discover that the platform has shut down, and it is now impossible to withdraw any money.
Coscoin, also known as Cosetek or Cos, promised to combine blockchain technology with artificial intelligence to provide investors “with more opportunities to make money and return on investment”. Allegedly, users only had to click an app button a few times a day to let bots automatically buy and sell cryptocurrencies on their behalf.
The scheme also incentivized affiliates to recruit new people, offering them 21% of the income generated by those they brought on board, 7% of the income generated by people they recruited, and 3% of the income of people they in turn roped in. This has led some people to believe that Coscoin was a pyramid scheme. Furthermore, there is no evidence that Coscoin is a cryptocurrency that trades on any of the main currency trading platforms.
Promised rates of returns were enormous – one “affiliate” said they were up to 2.8% per trade – which would amount to almost 3,000% compound interest a year. On November 23, Coscoin offered to match the deposits of anyone who further invested as an apparent Thanksgiving Day promotion, which now looks like a final push to get more money before the shutters came down. Shortly afterwards, the platform claimed to have been attacked by hackers and withdrawals were halted.
Lisa Auckland, a nurse from Middlesbrough, was recruited by a member who regularly sent screenshots apparently showing how much money he was making. She initially invested £100, then took advantage of a promotion to double her investment, putting in her savings of £2,500 and £500 from her wages. However, the platform went down the following day and she hadn’t withdrawn a single penny.
Liam Allinson
