Police Scotland have recently received several reports of cryptocurrency fraud, with victims losing significant amounts of money.
Officers have issued advice to members of the public to always be cautious when dealing with crypto investments – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
So how do you spot a Cryptocurrency Fraud?
Here are the main cryptocurrency warning signs to look out for:
• You see adverts on social media, sometimes celebrity endorsed, offering unrealistic returns on investments
• You’re contacted by phone, email or social media about an opportunity using aggressive techniques and incentives to buy before certain deadlines.
• You’re told you’re buying in at the perfect time. You may be offered a high return on your investment with apparently little or no risk.
• You’re pressurised into making a decision with no time for consideration .
• You are told that you need to make payment to cover various fees or taxes before being able to withdraw any funds.
• You are told to install remote desktop access software. This will allow the criminals to see everything you are doing, and potentially take over control of your device.
• They guide you to create an online account and move funds from your traditional account to this one, then they guide you on how to create a cryptocurrency account and move the funds once more.
• If you met on social media, they will try to move the conversation to another encrypted channel of communication, to make it difficult to locate.
If you think you may be a victim, please call 101.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
