Description

My elderly father was lured into calling a number he got from a YouTube ad promising an "AI algorithm" for trading stocks. He says the trading platform was endorsed by well known politicians, and he kept seeing the ads for weeks. The platform is called "TwentyOneVC", and their website is 21venturecapital.com. He called them, they signed him up, and walked him through setting up a Coinbase account. He then transferred them $200 USD to get started. They gave him a username and password to a "platform" at https://21vc.io and "trained him" on how to trade stocks using it. They claim to be doing Contract for Differences (CFD) trading, but to the trained eye, the site looks like a façade designed to lure in unsophisticated victims. You click on a stock to "open" a position, and watch as your profit ticks upwards until you close it. The $200 is an initial trial designed to bait you. They'll show you a profit, and even allow you to cash out a small amount to convince you the platform is legitimate (a common scam pattern). Then they'll hit you up to invest $10,000 or more, promising to give you personalized advice and reveal more secrets to trading. There are some telltale signs this is a scam. They claim to be UK-based, but the UK government database shows no sign of their registration. Their site lists no address, no registration number, and no background on the investors or directors. Their president, Tony Weissmann, has no online presence. They didn't collect any Know-Your-Client (KYC) information when they signed up my father. They keep calling him from different phone numbers. They gave him an address that doesn't exist on Google Maps. Stay away from this company!