Taxi drivers, celebrities and a Portuguese news channel — this is where some crypto investors heed their advice

Where do you get your information when buying and selling cryptocurrencies? With digital tokens creeping into mainstream finance, there is now an abundance of information and research notes and troves of data.

However, a recent survey conducted by U.K. regulator the Financial Conduct Authority, or FCA, found that some retail investors were heeding advice from unconventional and even alarming outlets.

“Despite this lack of understanding, the cryptoasset owners interviewed were often looking for ways to ‘get rich quick’ citing friends, acquaintances and social-media influencers as key motivations for buying cryptoassets,” the FCA said in its report.

Opinion: Bitcoin still fooling buyers into believing those 200%-plus gains are coming back

In its anecdotal survey, the FCA spoke to 31 U.K.-based individuals who either owned, had owned or were considering an investment in cryptocurrency, and the regulatory body’s findings are as surprising as one might expect. The FCA said it did not publicize last names for privacy reasons.

Here are some highlights:

Fred, a social-media expert from London, first heard of cryptocurrencies from a brother who had purchased some. But Fred’s decision to invest wasn’t inspired by his brother but by a taxi driver:

‘His decision to purchase some came after talking to a taxi driver, who said he had put himself through college with profits from ‘investing’ in cryptoassets.’

A person identified as Fred told the FCA he spread a £300 ($390) investment across three different digital currencies, including bitcoin














BTCUSD, +0.15%












, but before long his portfolio was worth less than £100. “Looking back I am ashamed of my investment and losing money,” Fred told the FCA.

Then there was Ashton, a 26-year-old musician and part-time spread better from a small village in the English Midlands. Ashton told the FCA he had heard stories about people becoming multimillionaires trading bitcoin but felt he had missed the boat and instead began investing in the S&P 500














SPX, +0.25%












.

However, it wasn’t long until temptation crept in and he began buying.

“After six months of poor results with ethereum he moved all his value to XRP (Ripple), as he thought he could get better returns. In December Ripple’s value increased sharply and Ashton said his purchase was worth £150,000 ($195,000 [in] U.S. dollars),” the FCA said.

For Ashton, this was habit forming:

‘I got addicted to making money while I slept.’

But the windfall never materialized for Ashton, who didn’t sell his XRP














XRPUSD, -0.07%












until his holdings had lost 90% of their value. “In April 2018 he decided to diversify his portfolio and acquired another six types of cryptoasset. He believes that it will ‘pull through’ one day, and that he will be able to retire early as a millionaire in the next few years,” the FCA said.

Angela, a 26-year-old Londoner, didn’t fare any better. She took her cue from a recent hire at her workplace who had purchased Litecoin














LTCUSD, +2.88%












 . Angela told the FCA that she could not afford to buy one bitcoin, even though she found it a “safer investment,” so instead she purchased two Litecoins for £650, or about $800. When the FCA spoke to her, her portfolio had lost 87%.

‘I only did my research after I had already bought them, which is when I started reading about how a lot of people created ‘hype’ around particular cryptocurrencies’

Read: Hospital opens rehab program for cryptocurrency ‘addicts’