A pensioner was reduced to tears after losing more than £250,000 to an investment scam that used a deepfake video of money guru Martin Lewis to lure him in.
The 68-year-old, from Wokingham in Berkshire, invested his life savings via XTradeMAX which ran the website xtrademax.com.
Initially the investment opportunity looked like it was going well. At the start of the scam he invested £250 and it looked like he had made good profits.
The fraudsters put £1,000 of this ‘profit’ into his bank account which he able to withdraw. This gave him the belief that it was a genuine investment opportunity.
However, the fraudsters later took control of his mobile phone and took out £120,000 in seven loans in his name.
The man, who does not want to be named, now faces monthly repayments on the loans of £2,850, leaving him with no money from his pensions to live on.
The FCA has issued a warning not to use XTradeMAX and Xtrademax.com
Talking about the scam, the victim said when the fraudsters stopped answering his calls, he “panicked” and broke down in tears.
He said: “I was crying because all my savings had gone, and I was left with this dire financial situation.
“I was so panicked because they didn’t answer my calls and disappeared. To start with, they were so professional and so friendly, so kind and reassuring, so I thought they were real.
It’s hard to take it in. I keep thinking ‘why have I done this?’”
The man, who has retired from a career in the NHS, sent 21 payments totalling £254,120 via his Wise and Halifax accounts to the scammers between June and August 2025.
He has now enlisted the help of National Fraud Helpline, a trading name of Richardson Hartley Law, to try to recover the money. Payment service providers have obligations from regulators to help protect their customers from fraud.
Fiona Bresnen, a lawyer at National Fraud Helpline, said: “We have come across a large number of people who have been scammed by fake AI-generated Martin Lewis adverts.
“If you are unaware of how AI works these adverts are incredibly convincing. To all intents and purposes these fake adverts look like Martin Lewis is recommending a company.
“Scammers are clearly mimicking Martin Lewis because he is such a trusted source of financial advice.”
After watching the fake Martin Lewis video, which claimed every British citizen could earn tens of thousands of pounds each month by investing with xtrademax.com, he telephoned the company and made an initial payment of £250.
“They said they would have meetings for the members of the scheme in Paris, and the money was for travelling expenses,” he said. “This made me think it was real. I was hoping to earn money to buy some land to grow organic vegetables and fruit.”
He spoke via WhatsApp on a weekly basis to traders called Ruby and Alex, who encouraged him to download AnyDesk to his device, which gave them access to his bank apps.
The pair persuaded him to invest increasingly large amounts to join the scheme’s ‘elite group’.
When he said he had used up all his savings, they told him they could arrange loans for him.
“They used AnyDesk to apply for loans,” he said. “They did everything for me, even the signature was electronic.
“They said they would pay the monthly payments from my account with them, and within two or three months I would have made enough to pay off the loans.”
At this point, his account on the X Trade Max platform showed a profit of £90,000.
However, none of it was real, and after paying the first two monthly loan repayments the scammers ceased all contact.
When they eventually replied to his repeated calls and emails, they turned nasty.
“They said ‘stop bothering customer service, we are sick and tired of your complaints’,” he said. “They were very rude, I was so shocked because before they were so nice and friendly and professional.”
The fraudsters told him he had made a loss on his account, and demanded another £250,000 to try to make his money back.
“They said I should borrow more money, but I couldn’t because I was behind on my repayments and my credit score was so bad,” he added. “They even said I should use my wife’s name to borrow money. I was so angry – they abused my trust, and I realised this is a scam. I was so frustrated.”
The man has managed to negotiate payment breaks and reduced instalments with the loan companies, and is now desperate to pay off the debt.
“I don’t like having loans, and I want to pay it off,” he said. “If I got some money back I would pay them off.”
The Financial Conduct Authority is warning people not to deal with this XTradeMAX and xtrademax.com. (XTradeMAX / xtrademax.com | FCA).
It states: “This firm may be providing or promoting financial services or products without our permission. You should avoid dealing with this firm and beware of scams.
Find out more about How We Help XtradeMAX Victims.
National Fraud Helpline is keen to hear from XtradeMAX scam victims. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.
