Elon Musk Doubling Scam Ms Bushnell

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Ms Bushnell was tricked into participating in a bitcoin doubling scam, which claimed using legitimate looking news sites that Elon Musk was doubling the money of investors. After sending in 9000 GBP ($11000 USD), she received nothing back.

This exchange or platform is based in United Kingdom, or the incident targeted people primarily in United Kingdom.

About None

"Ms Bushnell, an investor in cryptocurrency, spotted an item on a website that appeared to use BBC News branding, claiming Mr Musk, the billionaire boss of the Tesla car firm, would pay back double the sum of any Bitcoin deposit." "It used the name of entrepreneur Elon Musk and a story on a fake BBC website suggesting she could double her money in a giveaway of the cryptocurrency."

"Bushnell came across an article that appeared quite legitimate and seemed to mimic the look and structure of a piece published on the BBC. The article discussed a big bitcoin giveaway that was being hosted by Musk himself. He allegedly stated that anyone who was willing to donate bitcoin would see their figures double by his own hand… A common strategy amongst thieves."

"She paid £9,000, which she had saved for a deposit on a new home. When no reciprocal payment arrived it dawned on her that she had become the victim of a scam."

"The teacher frantically scurried to suspend her Lloyds account and any pending transactions, but it was already too late."

"Speaking publicly for the first time since the incident, she said she was 'ashamed and embarrassed', suffered panic attacks and was constantly 'crying and shaking'."

She said: "It has affected me massively. I wish I could have that time back - go in a time machine and not make those couple of clicks."

'I tried to sleep but couldn’t as I was having constant panic attacks and couldn’t stop shaking.

'I feel utterly depressed and I don’t know where to turn or how I will get past this horrific situation.

'I can’t eat or sleep properly and I keep crying while at work and running off to the toilets during the day and breaking down in floods of tears feeling ashamed and embarrassed of what has happened.'

Ms Bushnell, who has reported the crime to Sussex Police and Action Fraud, added: "They have robbed me of my dignity, self-respect, self-worth and strength. They have sucked all the goodness of life out of me.

"The science teacher insists she still thinks about her actions 'every day' and wants to raise awareness to ensure others don't fall victim to similar scams."

"I want to raise awareness of this scam so it doesn't happen to other vulnerable people."

"The fake site is still currently online. Research by crypto-community Whale Alert suggests so-called giveaway gangs made more than $18m worldwide in the first three months of 2021, with more than 5,600 victims - compared with 10,500 in the whole of 2020."

The BBC said it was taking action to have the site closed down, adding: "We urge people to check the veracity of [websites] and not to supply any personal information."

This exchange or platform is based in United Kingdom, or the incident targeted people primarily in United Kingdom.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

• Known history of when and how the service was started.
• What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
• What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
• Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
• Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
• How were people recruited to participate?
• Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:

• Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
• Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.

There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

The Reality

This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

• When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
• Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
• How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
• Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

What Happened

The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.

Key Event Timeline - Elon Musk Doubling Scam Ms Bushnell

Date	Event	Description
May 13th, 2021	Main Event	Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.

Technical Details

This section includes specific detailed technical analysis of any security breaches which happened. What specific software vulnerabilities contributed to the problem and how were they exploited?

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost has been estimated at $11,000 USD.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

Immediate Reactions

How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?

Ultimate Outcome

What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

Ongoing Developments

What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

General Prevention Policies

Never send money to an individual or organization with the expectation of receiving back an unrealistic return.

Individual Prevention Policies

No specific policies for individual prevention have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

No specific regulatory policies have yet been identified in this case.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.