A recent night out in London turned into a nightmare for Jacob Irwin-Cline, a tech expert from Oregon, who claimed he was drugged by a fake Uber driver who later stole $123,000 from his cryptocurrency accounts.
On a layover in London en route to visit family in Spain, Irwin-Cline found himself disoriented and financially devastated after getting into what he believed was his Uber outside a Soho nightclub around 1:30 a.m. on May 9.
“I lost $123,000 dollars in crypto and assets,” Irwin-Cline, a former software engineer, told MyLondon about the distressing experience. “They took the majority of my wealth.”
The unsuspecting crypto investor recalled getting into the car without verifying the model or license plate, simply because the driver seemed to match the Uber profile and called out his name. He accepted a cigarette from the driver and soon began feeling unusually dazed and drowsy, suspecting it had been laced with scopolamine, a powerful sedative.
“I remember being really docile,” Irwin-Cline said. He handed over his phone and passcodes to the fake driver, who later dumped him in an unfamiliar area of London and sped off after hitting him with the car.
“I vaguely remember going through applications a bit. He got a couple of passkeys from me to enter applications. There was definitely some sort of drug in the cigarette. I passed out for what I assumed to be 20 to 30 minutes,” he added.
Returning to his hostel without his phone, Irwin-Cline discovered that his laptop had been remotely wiped and he was locked out of his financial accounts. Upon regaining access, he was shocked to find the large sum missing.
Having reported the incident to the British police, Irwin-Cline has come to terms with the fact that the stolen funds are likely gone for good. He expressed concern for other potential victims and emphasized the importance of staying vigilant.
The brazen theft occurred shortly after another crypto-related incident in Manhattan, where Kentucky crypto trader John Woeltz was allegedly kidnapped and tortured by wealthy Italian trader Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan for his Bitcoin password. Carturan was subjected to horrific tortures before managing to escape when his captors were momentarily distracted.
Three individuals, including Woeltz, have been arrested in connection with the harrowing ordeal. These incidents serve as a stark reminder of the risks associated with cryptocurrency investments and the importance of safeguarding personal information.
