Cryptocurrency fraud seeks to get consumers to invest in supposed cryptocurrencies, vaunting the secure, easy and very lucrative nature of such investments. Swindlers try to inspire confidence in their victims. They assure you that you don’t need to be an expert in cryptocurrencies in order to invest in them, and that ‘specialists’ will manage your investments for you.
The swindlers promise that the funds invested can be withdrawn at any time or that the funds are guaranteed. However, in the end the victims are never able to recover their money!
Take note, there are fake press articles on the internet conveying false ‘statements’ and/or ‘interviews’ of public figures that are used, without their knowledge, to praise certain financial investments in cryptocurrencies. These fake articles circulate online via fake news sites as well as on Facebook via sponsored advertisements.
Their aim is to gain your confidence, using images of well-known individuals in the sports, media or business world. In this way, they try to get you to accept their offers of investments that are too good to be true.
Do you suspect that the offer being made to you may be fraudulent?
Have you been the victim of investment or credit fraud and you don’t know what to do?
If so, please contact the FSMA directly.
Don’t fall into the trap, follow our recommendations!
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Always check the identity of the person or company contacting you (have you checked the name, registered office, home country, contact details and whether it holds an authorization to make you this type of offer?).
If you cannot clearly establish the company’s identity, it should not be trusted. If the company is based outside the European Union, you should be aware of the difficulty of legal recourse in the event of a dispute.
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Be wary as well of ‘cloned firms’.
These are companies that pass themselves off as different, lawful companies even though they in fact have no connection with the latter. A close look at the email addresses or contact details for the companies in question may prove useful in order to detect potential fraud of this sort.
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Be wary, too, if the company or its website is fairly new.
This is often the case with such cryptocurrency platforms, which are generally less than a year old.
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Always ask the person contacting you to provide clear and comprehensible information and take a critical view of the information you are given.
Never invest if you do not understand precisely what is being offered. Be sure always to verify the information you receive.
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Many cryptocurrency platforms promise guaranteed returns or protection of your entire capital.
Such promises in the cryptocurrency sector are, however, illusory!
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Be wary if your contact person asks you to transfer money to a bank account in a country that is different from the one where the company’s registered office is located.
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Lastly, be wary of (promises of) disproportionate returns.
If a return seems too good to be true, it usually is.