Woman loses $5,000 in Facebook investment scam in Monroe County

CHESTNUT HILL TOWNSHIP, Pa (WOLF) — A woman in Monroe County fell victim to a sophisticated investment scam.

A 62-year-old woman from Gilbert lost $5,000 after being deceived by a scammer impersonating a former friend on Facebook.

According to the Pennsylvania State Police in Fern Ridge, the scammer accessed the Facebook account of Joe Calderone, a former friend of the victim, to lure her into investing money through a fictitious investment company.

The victim was instructed to convert her deposits into Bitcoin before sending them.

The scammer manipulated the website to falsely show that the victim had profited over $47,000 within a week. However, the profits were not legitimate, and the victim has been unable to recover her $5,000 investment.

Authorities are warning the public to exercise extreme caution if they receive Facebook messages inviting them to invest with Joe Calderone through Amex CYPMarket.

Anyone with information related to this case is urged to contact the Pennsylvania State Police Fern Ridge barracks.