Perth County OPP issued a warning to area residents after a local resident fell victim to a cryptocurrency investment scam.
Police received a report shortly before 11.30am on Tuesday of a Perth East resident who lost more than $140,000.
The investigation is ongoing, but police also have information to help people avoid this type of fraud, the OPP said in a news release.
In 2022, Ontario residents lost more than $136,000 in investment-related fraud and just over $20,000 in romance-related fraud.
Between five and 10 per cent of frauds are reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center (CAFC) or the police.
Scammers use advanced methods to appear legitimate and trick people into trusting them.
Reports of investment scams received by the OPP and CAFC include initial coin offerings, Ponzi schemes, franchise opportunities, futures trading, multi-level marketing opportunities, mortgage investment opportunities, and pump and dump schemes.
More recently, investment opportunities offer higher than normal, or true monetary, returns, causing investors to lose most or all of their money.
Most investment scam reports involve Ontario residents deciding to invest in cryptocurrency after seeing a misleading advertisement on social media and typically involve victims downloading a trading platform and transferring cryptocurrency to their trading account. . In most cases, victims are unable to withdraw their funds and many of the trading platforms are likely to be fraudulent or controlled by scammers.
Warning signs of investment fraud include:
- Investment opportunities with higher than normal returns.
- Unsolicited investment offers by telephone, email or social networks.
- Urgent samples so you don't miss it.
- a person you meet on a dating or social media website trying to convince you to invest in cryptocurrency
- a friend tells you about a cryptocurrency investment opportunity via social media or email
- phone calls from cryptocurrency investment companies
- fraudulent advertisements published on the Internet or social networks
- Request to transfer your cryptocurrency investment to an alternative crypto address.
Anyone who has been a victim of fraud or knows someone who has can contact local police to report the crime and also report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center (CAFC) by phone at 1-888-495-8501 or online through him Fraud Reporting System (FRS)even if no financial loss occurred.
