Singer Gareth Gates has revealed that he lost a whopping £250,000 after getting involved with a Forex trader.
The Pop Idol runner-up said he became involved with someone who told him that they were an expert in trading foreign currencies, but he ended up seriously out of pocket.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, he revealed that he had invested £100,000 and was told he would see a 50 percent return on that each year, which he did in the first year.
However, in the second year - after investing another £150,000 - his monthly repayments slowed right down.
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He told the newspaper: "I'm more careful now as I got burnt once and lost £250,000.
"I was a victim of that. I got nothing back and it was a big learning curve for me."
He added: "We then found out he'd blown the account. Everybody's money had been blown.
"He obviously didn't have good risk management in place, and he'd got himself in too deep.
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"He'd maybe lost some bad trades and tried to chase them and literally lost everybody's money, unfortunately." Ouch.
Forex trading involves buying and selling foreign currencies, but the industry is blighted with scammers.
The Financial Conduct Agency has issued a warning about Forex scams, which explains: "Fraudsters often use social media to promote their 'get rich quick' online trading platforms.
"Posts often use fake celebrity endorsements and images of luxury items like expensive watches and cars. These then link to professional-looking websites where consumers are persuaded to invest.
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"Investors will often be led to believe that their first investment has successfully made a profit. The fraudster will then contact the victim to invest more money or introduce friends and family with the false promise of greater profits.
"However, eventually the returns stop, the customer account is closed and the scammer disappears with no further contact."
Between 2018 and 2019 a staggering £27 million was reported lost via crypto and forex investment scams, the Agency reported, with an average loss of £14,600.
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Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, FCA, said: "We're warning the public to be suspicious of adverts which promise high returns from online trading platforms.
"Scammers can be very convincing so always do your own research into any firm you are considering investing with, to make sure that they are the real deal.
"Before investing online find out how to protect yourself from scams by visiting the ScamSmart website, and if in any doubt - don't invest."
Featured Image Credit: PA