Investment Scam

​"Send us a £10,000 deposit so we can release your investments!" - Situations like these often lure people to keep sending

money with the hope of getting their investment out.

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Many people are keen to grow their money and turn to investment companies as a way to achieve financial success. They may look at online ads they’ve seen on social media or go to the platform that was endorsed by a famous celebrity. Sometimes, it's an online friend who appears very successful and asks you to send them money with the promise of a large return. Often, these are fabricated stories from fake profiles designed to lure you into a scam.

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Scammers are skilled at building trust to take advantage of this desire. They may pose as professional brokers or friendly advisors to create a relationship with you. Once they gain your confidence, they exploit it to steal your money.

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Investing can be highly rewarding but also carries significant risks, particularly from scammers. If you're thinking about investing, it’s vital to recognise the common scams and learn how to safeguard your money.

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Common Features of Investment Scams

 

• Fake Brokers: Scammers pose as legitimate brokers to trick you into investing through them. They might have professional-looking websites and fake testimonials.​​

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• Unconventional transfer methods: Brokers advising you to send money through less formal methods, such as crypto exchanges or personal bank accounts, is a major red flag. They may even ask you to open a new bank account to facilitate the transfer. Regulated companies will never do this; they will only accept money through business accounts or on their platform through a regulated payments provider.

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• Informal Communication Methods: Scammers often use encrypted and hard-to-trace platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, or Signal. They tend to communicate informally and may use different phone numbers frequently. These scam companies are often hard to get a hold of and do not widely advertise their contact details. In contrast, regulated companies will always use regular communication methods such as emails and official numbers and make their contact information readily available.

 

• Blockchain Agents: An agent may claim that in order to release your funds, you must provide a fixed fee as liquidity or deposit. This is often a scam to steal your money.

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• Unregistered Platforms: These platforms may look professional, but they're not registered with financial authorities. Investing through them is risky and often illegal.

 

• Promises of High Returns: Scammers often promise exceptionally high returns on investments. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

 

How to Protect Yourself

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• Verify Brokers: Ensure your broker is registered with financial authorities. Look up their credentials and check for reviews and complaints.
   

• Use Registered Platforms: Only use investment platforms registered with official financial regulatory bodies.
   

• Question High Returns: Be skeptical of promises of high returns with little or no risk. Legitimate investments typically offer more modest, realistic returns.

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Are you having issues withdrawing your investment?

 

At Blockchain Insight, we can investigate the company to see if it is legitimate and if the money they are requesting adds up. If it turns out to be a scam, we can help you try to get your initial money back. This could be through official channels or directly from the scammer if we have enough information to track them down. Contact us today to see how we can assist you.

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Stay informed, stay cautious, and stay safe. Remember, if it sounds off, then investigate it!

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