At some point in everyone's life, they've heard the saying, "If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Over time, criminals find clever ways to take advantage of unsuspecting members of the community, siphoning off their life savings, shaking their confidence, and even setting up victims for potential criminal charges. Stanley M. Meador, Special Agent in Charge of the Richmond Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, wants to alert members of the Commonwealth community to a relatively new fraud scheme that has received little attention but could have a significant impact with few resources for unsuspecting victims: Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud Schemes, more commonly known as โpig slaughterโ.
Cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes are usually started when scammers contact victims on social media or dating app sites, showing some sort of โinnocentโ connection when in fact it is a heavily calculated and heavily calculated first move. written by many to establish a relationship and gain trust. Eventually, these conversations lead to discussions of investment opportunities, in which victims are lured into investing funds in cryptocurrency using fake websites/apps that allow them to track the progress of their investment. The deception becomes apparent when victims attempt to cash out their investments or when communication with the scammer is terminated. Unlike more well-known fraud schemes such as Business Email Compromise, ransomware, senior fraud, and vacation and romance scams, where restoration of financial losses can occur if reported quickly, victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes should know that they will. not see recovery of your cryptocurrency losses.
Beware of those get-rich-quick schemes; educate yourself and prevent scammers from fattening your pockets with your hard-earned money or using it as a money mule to help launder funds within their criminal enterprises. learn about others Common crimes and scamsincluding White collar and cybernetic on the FBI website.
The FBI has tips for recognizing and preventing victimization by fraud schemes:
- Be on the lookout for domain names posing as legitimate financial institutions, especially cryptocurrency exchanges; or those that may have misspellings or slight differences in the URLs of the actual financial institutions.
- Unless you can verify their legitimacy, please refrain from downloading or using suspicious-looking apps as trading tools.
- Before buying digital currency or making investments, research what is being offered and the entity that is offering it. The Securities and Exchange Commission offers investment guidance and tools.
- Beware of online retailers offering products at significantly reduced prices and those requiring gift card payment.
- Do not reply to or click on links within unsolicited emails.
- Secure credit card and rewards accounts with strong passphrases. Change passwords and check bank and credit accounts routinely.
- Conduct an online retail business inquiry with the Better Business Bureau.
If you believe you have been the victim of a cryptocurrency investment fraud scheme or any other fraud scheme, please file a report as quickly as possible with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov), your local FBI office, and your financial institution.
