Chorley teenager loses life savings to 'sick and cruel scam'

Max Greenhalgh, 19, from Chorley, was mourning the loss of his father when he was targeted by the scammer on social media last year.

The fraudster encouraged Max to open up about his loss and said he would help him make his late father proud.

Max, who started his own business trading on foreign exchange markets, said he spent hundreds of hours researching the subject.

He said: "The scammer reached out to me, offering mentorship and promising me crazy numbers if I worked with him.

"I opened up to him about my dad, and shared all aspects of my life with him.

"He told me he’d help me make my dad proud.

"I trusted him so much - more than a mentor, he posed as my friend."

Over two weeks in January, Max put £4,750 into a crypto wallet he believed was funding, which turned out to be a fake trading account set up by the scammer.

He described it as "earth-shattering" the moment the fraudster came clean in a text message and said: "I’m sorry, I’ve done you dirty, this was all a lie and I’m keeping all the money.

"I hope life gives you the best of it, keep trading, you’ll be amazing one day.

"I’m very sorry, you seem like a nice guy."

Max said: "I felt like I’d let down my mum, my little sister, my girlfriend, I was so thoroughly embarrassed.

"I felt stupid and worthless.

"He left with zero pounds in my bank account."

He also had to sell his father’s treasured BMW 3 series, which he had vowed to keep on despite 'crippling' monthly insurance payments.

Max put £4,750 into a crypto wallet which he believed was funding (Image: Mark Tattersall)

When Max, a straight-A student, started trading, he set up an account with a broker, but the scammer encouraged him to use a different broker and offered to set up an account for him.

He gave Max access to the account and told him to fund it with Bitcoin deposits to a crypto wallet.

Max could see the money going into his broker trading account, which had grown to £15,000 after a couple of weeks.

To celebrate, the scammer encouraged Max to buy a new car, a £6,500 2016 Mercedes, but to get his money out of the account he would need to pay a 'tax' of two lots of £800.

Max said: “I didn’t have the money, so I ended up borrowing £1,600 off one of my best friends, who grew up very poor and saved every penny that he made.

“Friday rolls around and I’m about to go and get this new car, and everything’s looking good. I felt amazing about it.”

But shortly before he was due to collect the car, for which his girlfriend had paid a £100 non-refundable deposit, Max’s world 'fell apart.'

The broker trading account had been fake and the money in it was entirely fictitious.

Max said: “I was in a vulnerable position, and he capitalised on it.

"As soon as I told him about my dad, all he saw was money signs. I don’t know how he sleeps at night.”

“Every day I wake up with a chip on my shoulder.

“It totally changes your perspective on everything.

"I don’t feel I can trust anyone now."

Max said I trusted him so much - more than a mentor, he posed as my friend (Image: Mark Tattersall)

Max has now enlisted specialist fraud solicitors Richardson Hartley Law to help recover the money from his bank, Santander.

Martin Richardson, senior partner at Richardson Hartley Law, said: "This is such a sick and cruel scam.

"It never fails to amaze us just how heartless scammers can be.

"They prey on people when they’re at their most vulnerable and have no qualms about exploiting any situation.

"Our aim is to recover all of Max’s money for him."