Host: Mariana Van Zeller

Film Source: National Geographic

Original Title: Crypto Scams (Full Episode) | Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller | Nat Geo

Broadcast Date: March 3, 2025

Shadows of Dubai: Confessions of a Scam Operator

In a luxurious villa on Palm Island in Dubai, a mysterious figure gave an interview. The villa rents for as much as $15,000 a week, and sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the $250,000 worth of jewelry he wore, shining brilliantly. He casually remarked, “This is a legitimate way to steal.” There was a hint of disturbing pride in his tone.

The scam operator, who referred to himself as “Mr. X,” calmly described how he could design a scam capable of defrauding tens of millions of dollars in just 15 minutes, as if discussing the most ordinary matter.

Through this exclusive interview, National Geographic’s “Trafficked” host, Mariana Van Zeller, revealed a lesser-known side of the crypto world—the schemes that defraud ordinary investors of billions of dollars each year.

This episode provides a panoramic view of the harsh realities behind an almost unregulated digital wealth era, featuring everyone from the designers of scams to the financially ruined victims and the FBI agents dedicated to combating such crimes.

Highlights from the Interview

Mr. X (Scam Operator)

This is a legitimate way to steal. This is a legal way to make money.

A successful marketing campaign can easily earn about $69 million through multiple KOL promotions.

In Dubai, we know privileged people who can help us avoid trouble. There are no lawsuits here; we can escape many things.

That’s because they are weak-minded. Don’t invest money you can’t afford to lose, understand? Who would do that?

If you are going to invest your life savings into a token without even doing a 5-minute Google search, I think they are the dumbest people on earth.

How would we get caught? Who would catch us? Crypto police? No one is going to help those investors.

Robert (Victim Turned Crypto Vigilante)

When the dust settled, I was left with $86. It’s hard to describe that feeling; emotionally, it’s devastating.

We may have saved thousands of people from losing millions of dollars. But it’s not easy; we’ve even received death threats.

We monitor newly launched tokens for signs of suspicious activity. For example, when you see a token drop 85% in 24 hours but only 3% in the past hour, it usually indicates someone is offloading a large amount.

A legitimate project will do everything it can to prove to investors that their funds are safe, rather than evade questions.

When a project’s developer becomes defensive when questioned or directly removes the questioner from the chat room, that is almost certainly a sign of a scam.

Xavier (Crypto Enthusiast)

It’s shocking that so many people can do this and still get away with it. I personally know some who lost their life savings because of this.

I’ve been scammed 7 to 8 times myself; I first invested $500 and then lost nearly $10,000 the next time.

People don’t like to read or research; they just blindly follow trends and influencers on social media.

There are no rules and no protections in the decentralized finance world. Once you get scammed, you can only chalk it up to bad luck, and there’s no way to recover your funds.

FBI Representative

We do hear a lot about the gray areas and undefined zones of cryptocurrency, claiming that it isn’t money, so currency rules don’t apply. But when a person invests under the understanding of specific promises, and those promises are not fulfilled, that is fraud. Fraud is fraud.

We often find that new technologies are first adopted by predatory individuals. In the past year, we’ve seen an exponential growth in fraud related to cryptocurrency.

People often say the FBI always catches its targets, whether today or tomorrow. Those who seek to harm our system should always be vigilant, as we are watching.

Basic Principles of the “Rug Pull” Scam

Mariana: Can you explain how a “Rug Pull” scam works?

Xavier (Crypto Enthusiast, the person who initially explains the scam to host Mariana in the show): Let me use a margarita to explain how this scam works. When we launch a token, let’s say it’s a scam token, the scammers have already purchased a large amount of this token at a very low price. As people start buying and the price rises, the token’s liquidity and value also increase. At this point, more investors will flood in, and promoters on social media will continuously market the product.

Ordinary novice investors seeing this situation will think, “I have to get in right now; it looks great, it’s constantly rising, and everyone is buying.” Just when the token hype reaches its peak, the scammers will “Rug Pull”—selling off all holdings and causing the price to crash. That’s the “Rug Pull” scam.

It’s shocking that so many people can do this and still get away with it. I personally know some who lost their life savings because of this.

Mariana: How important is it for ordinary investors to understand this scam?

Xavier: Extremely important. I’ve been scammed 7 to 8 times myself; I first invested $500 and then lost nearly $10,000 the next time. That’s the problem—people don’t like to read or research; they just blindly follow trends and invest based on social media KOLs. However, there are no rules and no protections in the decentralized finance world. Once you get scammed, you can only chalk it up to bad luck, and there’s no way to recover your funds.

Insider Insight: Conversation with Mr. X

Mariana: Were you ever a victim yourself?

Mr. X: Yes, every cryptocurrency trader has experienced a “Rug Pull.” So I thought, since this happens, I might as well figure out how they do it and how to make money like them.

Mariana: Why are you interested in this?

Mr. X: Because it’s easy money. This is Easy Money.

Mariana: How much can you make from one scam?

Mr. X: A successful marketing campaign, promoted through multiple influential people, can easily earn about $69 million.

Mariana: Don’t you think this is stealing?

Mr. X: No, this is a way of “legal stealing.” It’s a lawful way to make money.

Mariana: If this is legal, why do you wear masks? Why not do this openly?

Mr. X: That’s because my face is recognizable to many people.

This is my promoter (Shiller), he has hundreds of thousands of fans and connections with celebrities. If recognized, it would end our way of life.

Mariana: What is your way of life like?

Mr. X:
Luxurious. We rent six villas in Dubai, each costing $15,000 a week. Our team travels together with 20 people. The jewelry I wear on a daily basis is worth over $250,000. We drive luxury cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and live in the most expensive area of Palm Island. Here in Dubai, we know privileged people who can help us avoid trouble. There are no lawsuits here, and we can escape from many things.

Mariana: Do you feel guilty about those who have lost everything? We hear that some people have committed suicide because of such scams.

Mr. X:
That’s weak-minded. Don’t invest money you can’t afford to lose, understand? Who would do that? If you are going to put your life savings into a token without even bothering to do a 5-minute Google search, I think they are the dumbest group of people on Earth.

Mariana: Aren’t you worried about getting caught?

Mr. X:
Caught? Who would catch us? The crypto police? No one is going to help those investors. We’re not worried about the law catching up; it’s simply impossible. It’s nearly impossible to detect where we are or track us.

Mariana: What do you spend the money on?

Mr. X:
Investments, bank accounts, family accounts, legitimate businesses, shoes, clothes, designer brands, jewelry. I feel great; this is the feeling of freedom.

Story of a Victim Turned Vigilante
Robert (a victim of a cryptocurrency scam turned vigilante):
A few years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer, which gave me more time to slow down and focus on life and investments. One day, my son came to me and said, “Hey dad, check out cryptocurrency.” I started researching and invested some money, getting good returns. One day, I participated in a token launch. It was postponed several times, and the developers were young and had not fully disclosed their identities. On the launch day, the developers sold all their holdings, appearing like a massive “Rug Pull.” When the dust settled, I was left with only $86. It’s hard to describe that feeling; emotionally, it was devastating. Knowing that others were going through the same situation, I decided that I had to take action, and it had to start with me. Now we offer bounties to encourage people to report suspicious activities. In the last 30 days, we have paid out around $17,500 in bounties. This money comes from our own tokens used to fund our