A 61-year-old man in Paphos has lost more than €77,600 after falling victim to two linked cryptocurrency scams, police said on Saturday.

According to a complaint filed with Paphos CID, the man’s ordeal began in mid-February when he came across a social media advertisement promoting cryptocurrency investments.

He contacted an unknown English-speaking woman through a phone application and, following her instructions, converted €6,200 from his bank account into cryptocurrency and transferred it to an unknown digital wallet for investment.

The man was given a link through which he could monitor what appeared to be his investment, which subsequently showed significant profits.

When he attempted to withdraw his money, however, he was asked to pay a further €3,222. At that point he suspected he had been scammed and cut off contact with the woman.

A month later, he was contacted through a phone application by two Greek-speaking individuals who claimed they specialised in recovering money lost through online scams.

They allegedly told him they could recover his lost funds as well as help him cash in supposed profits from previous cryptocurrency investments.

The 61-year-old was persuaded and, between March 20 and July 27, made a series of bank transfers to overseas accounts provided by the suspects.

The money was requested under various pretexts, including fees, charges and taxes supposedly required to complete the recovery process and release his profits.

He never received any money and eventually realised he had been scammed for a second time.

According to his complaint, the total amount taken exceeded €77,600.

The Paphos CID financial crime investigation office is investigating the case.

Police urged the public to be particularly cautious about online investment offers and unsolicited approaches from unknown individuals, and not to provide third parties with access to electronic devices, online accounts or banking information.

People considering online investments should deal only with recognised companies and authorised financial investment advisers, police added.