I Thought I’d Get Rich… But I Lost Everything in Oslo
You won’t believe it… I thought scams were something that only happened to other people. I told myself I was too careful, too smart, that I’d spot the trick immediately. And yet, in just a few weeks, I lost everything. My savings, my safety net, years of sacrifices—gone. #Norway #TrueStory #Scam #Investment #Finance #StoryTime #Warning
You won’t believe what happened to me. You know, we always think this kind of thing only happens to other people. We tell ourselves: “Me? Never. I’d never fall for that. I’m too careful. I’d recognize a scam immediately.”Well… let me tell you this: I lost EVERYTHING. All my savings, years of work, and part of my dreams… gone in just a few weeks. And the worst part? I honestly believed I was making a safe, profitable, guaranteed investment.This whole story took place in Norway—between cafés in Oslo, the colorful streets of Bergen, and emails that at first looked absolutely legitimate.
At the time, I was living in Oslo, in the Grünerløkka neighborhood. If you’ve been there, you know it’s lively—full of hip cafés, little design shops, cobblestone streets where people walk around with bikes and tote bags, always smelling of fresh coffee and rain on the pavement.Every morning, I had a ritual. I’d buy a cappuccino in a café by the Akerselva River. I’d sit with my laptop, work a bit, daydream about the future. That’s where the idea hit me: I needed to make my money grow.I had managed to save around two hundred thousand kroner. For me, that was huge.
Years of sacrifices, side jobs, long hours. It was my safety net. And I thought: if I just leave it in a savings account, I’ll earn peanuts. Why not invest? Why not enter the world of finance, real investments, profitable returns?One night, I was scrolling through Facebook. And then—a sponsored post caught my eye. It said: “Invest in real estate crowdfunding in Northern Europe. Guaranteed returns: 12% per year.”The magic words. Guaranteed. Secure. Profitable.I clicked.
The website was extremely professional. Photos of modern apartment buildings in Bergen, slick financial charts, video testimonials of smiling couples claiming they had doubled their savings thanks to the platform. Everything looked legit.The very next day, I got a call. A man named Erik introduced himself as a financial advisor, based in Oslo but working with an international investment company. His voice was calm, his vocabulary precise. He spoke about insurance, portfolio diversification, safe investments, stable returns. I still remember him saying: “Here, you take no risks. Your funds are protected by real estate guarantees. You can withdraw your money anytime.” He knew exactly what to say.And I believed him.I decided to test it out.
I invested fifty thousand kroner. A few days later, I got an email: “Congratulations, your funds have been allocated to the Bergen real estate project.” Attached was an official-looking PDF, stamped and signed.A month later, to my surprise, I received a transfer: 500 euros. A real payout. On my actual bank account.I thought: “This is incredible. It actually works.”I even told a friend: “See? Traditional banks rip us off with their ridiculous two or three percent. Here, my money is working for me.” I felt proud. I thought I had found the perfect formula—the dream investment.Then came the trap.Erik would call me regularly. Always polite, always reassuring.
Every time, he’d say I was a smart investor, that my funds were safe, that I was a visionary. Flattered, I put in more. Another hundred thousand. Then the rest.Within a few months, my entire savings—two hundred thousand kroner, about eighteen thousand euros—were locked into this platform.And for a while, everything seemed fine. I received regular emails, account statements, charts with percentages, earnings projections. It all looked coherent.Until one morning.I tried logging into my dashboard. Blank page. I refreshed. Nothing. I tried later that day. Same thing. Next day—same.I started to panic. I called Erik. Voicemail. I left a message. Silence.
I sent an email. No reply.For a week, I tried everything. Nothing worked. That’s when the fear really hit me.I went to my bank, DNB, to ask for help. I sat across from the banker, explained the whole story. He listened carefully, then shook his head and said: “Sir, what you’re describing is an investment scam. These platforms pop up and vanish overnight. Your funds are probably gone abroad. I’m sorry, but you will most likely never see that money again.”The floor collapsed beneath me. Two hundred thousand kroner. Years of work. My plans. All gone.My dream of buying a small apartment in Bergen? Gone. My financial security? Shattered.I still remember sitting in my living room, hands in my hair, repeating over and over: “How could I be so stupid?” For days, I couldn’t talk about it to anyone. I was ashamed.And as if that wasn’t enough… two weeks later, I got another call. This time from someone claiming to be a “fund recovery specialist.” He told me they had identified the company that scammed me, that they were working with lawyers, and that to unlock my assets I just had to pay five thousand euros in legal fees.For a second, I almost believed him.
I was so desperate that I would have given anything to get my money back. But this time, I had the reflex to ask a lawyer friend. When I explained, he cut me off: “Stop right there. This is a second scam. They target victims to squeeze even more money out of them. If you pay, you’ll never get anything back.”I hung up. And that’s when I realized… not only had I lost all my savings, I had almost fallen for another scam on top of it.I felt humiliated. But looking back, I realize it wasn’t just naivety. It was trust. And that’s exactly what these scammers exploit.They are organized, methodical. They know how to build websites that look more real than reality, send fake payouts to gain your trust, and play on our dreams of financial freedom. Nobody is completely safe.
Now, I understand one thing: in finance, there are no miracles. If someone promises you guaranteed double-digit returns, it means YOU are the product.I swore I’d always check: Is the company registered with the financial supervisory authority? Do they have a real office, a physical address, insurance, banking licenses? Do their promises sound realistic?Because money… it takes forever to earn. And just seconds to lose.That’s why I’m telling you my story. Not to complain. But to warn you. Because if it happened to me, it can happen to you, to your brother, your sister, your neighbor.So please… be careful.And you—tell me in the comments: have you ever almost fallen for an investment scam?
