An investor recently suffered a significant loss of $310,000 after engaging with a dubious cryptocurrency trading platform, Ethfinance, which they discovered through an unsolicited LinkedIn connection request. According to the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) Securities Division, the investor deposited the funds into Ethfinance from their DeFi wallet, expecting substantial profits from crypto trading.

However, when attempting to withdraw both the initial investment and profits, the investor was instructed to deposit additional funds to fulfill a supposed "smart contract" requirement for the withdrawal process. Refusal to comply resulted in the investor's account being locked, preventing any withdrawal of funds.

EthFinance, the platform in question, remains operational online. The DFI suspects this incident may be classified as "Advance Fee Fraud," where fraudsters promise high returns or services in exchange for upfront fees and then disappear after receiving the payment.

Earlier, another user from California reported a similar case involving EthFinance, where they lost over $165,000 after falling prey to an individual offering crypto options trading lessons online. The fraud became apparent when the victim was asked to pay "taxes" amounting to 25% of the profits to the "CEO of Crypto Customer Service" on Telegram, before they could withdraw funds.

On the same day, the Washington DFI issued alerts regarding two fictitious crypto exchanges and one fraudulent investment management platform.