Cardiff man jailed for cryptocurrency scam defrauding victims of £124k
23-year-old hacked social media accounts to promote fake investments
Last updated 18th Dec 2025
A 23-year-old man from Cardiff has been sentenced to prison for defrauding victims of more than £124,000 in a cryptocurrency scam.
Haroon Zaman, of Holmesdale Street in Grangetown, carried out the scam through hacked social media accounts, targeting friends and followers with false investment opportunities.
"He was sentenced to three years and eight months behind bars at Reading Crown Court on 17th December 2023, after pleading guilty earlier this year to 17 counts of fraud by false representation.
Between January 2021 and June 2023, Zaman took control of victims’ social media accounts and posed as them online, promoting what appeared to be risk-free cryptocurrency investments. The scam convinced victims to transfer funds, but no legitimate investments existed. Instead, Zaman stole a total of £124,479.
Following his arrest and charge on 19th April, the case was investigated by the Cyber Crime team within the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), working in collaboration with South Wales Police.
Detective Constable Alex Sarakinis from SEROCU’s Cyber Crime team described Zaman’s actions as exploitative, highlighting how he misused the trust placed in victims’ social media accounts to steal funds.
“By hijacking social media accounts, he deceived people into believing they were investing safely, when in fact he was stealing their money,” said DC Sarakinis.
“Thanks to close partnership working with South Wales Police, we were able to uncover the scale of his offending and ensure he has now been brought before the courts.”
Victims of online fraud or hacking are encouraged to report incidents to the police through Action Fraud.