Got scammed for £1k in a ponzi scheme

I'm 17 years old and I got scammed for around £1000 in a cryptocurrency ponzi scheme yesterday. I always thought I was cautious enough to spot a scam and that if I ever did fall for one in the future, it would only be for a small amount. I was wrong.

The scheme involved sending some cryptocurrency and then receiving 1% more back directly to your exchange within 10 minutes. I tested it with small amounts and it was working, so I kept adding more. You were supposed to be capped at 15% daily but I created a program to automate everything, thinking I could game it. It worked at first, but once I made about £150 and transferred it out again, I didn’t get the money back.

My family call me a “cheapskate” because I’m careful with mine and other people's spending. I like to think I’m smart with financial decisions and that I can tell when something is off.

I thought I was pretty immune to falling for something like this. It's an expensive lesson, but I wanted to share my experience here. I hope others can learn from this. It sounds like it wouldn't happen to you until it does.

To anyone considering investments out of the ordinary: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Always do your research and wait for some time before you go ahead with it.

Thanks for listening to me vent. I have seen the scammer has been transferring funds in chunks to a Bitget wallet. I think I've done all I can by reporting it to IC3. I’m upset but I am trying to process it and work out how to move forward.

Edit: Thanks for the helpful comments. I'm taking this as an important lesson. Like many of you said, it's better to learn early than later and I'll be more cautious from now on.