An Edinburgh man has lost his life savings of '£100k' after falling victim to a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme.
Mick owns the Coffee Lodge in Hermitage of Braid in Edinburgh and warned his customers realising he had been tricked.
In a post to his loyal customers, he explained that over the seven years he's worked at the Lodge, he was saving money for his children. In January 2023, he invested it in cryptocurrency.
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However, at the start of May, he realised he had lost 'all of his life savings'. In a post to his customers, he said: "I invested it all in January after doing due diligence on the company so felt safe."
He was due to put down a £35k deposit on a flat. Mick was saving for a deposit on a home for his children so he could provide a secure future for them but when he went to withdraw his money, he was told he had made a good return on it, it was gone.
He wrote: "It never arrived, after weeks of investigation it was found to be fraudulent, and I tried every avenue has been explored to retrieve it."
"The point of the post, not sympathy (I’m not that type of person), financial gain, or anything like that.
"I did it. Nobody forced me. It's just a warning really do not do what I did unless you’re a financial professional. It’s ruined the chance of a house for a dad and his kids so be very careful what you do with your money. Anybody can be anybody on the internet."
The local community and his customers flocked to the comments to offer their support to the much-loved cafe owner.
A JustGiving page has been set up by one of his customers. She wrote: "Mick is the much-loved owner of the Lodge Coffee House in the Hermitage of Braid local nature reserve.
"He serves the community with a smile and a chat, and the best scones around! Devastatingly, he has recently lost his life's savings due to a financial scam, many of you will have seen his recent post about this huge loss.
"This money was saved in the hope that it would provide for his children's home and future security. Many people want to help in some small way, and if you can donate anything it would be hugely appreciated.
"This has understandably been a terrible blow to an honest man who works so hard for his family. Even the cost of a cup of coffee will help."
If you want to support Mick you can go to JustGiving.com.
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