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- The woman allegedly conned an investor of roughly $1.1 million by acting as an unlicensed investment broker.
- In this case, she offered to invest the victim’s money while claiming to be a middleman. The Central Bank requires firms that operate as intermediaries to follow the procedures allocated to retail intermediaries, which might take up to 90 days.
- An person in the United Kingdom lost his retirement funds to fraudsters after being convinced that investing would better his lifestyle. Fraudsters demanded further payments until he was left with a £250,000 debt due to a cognitively-impairing illness.
An older Irish woman in her 60s was recently caught by Irish authorities while posing as a financial investor, breaching Irish law. The woman allegedly conned an investor of roughly $1.1 million by acting as an unlicensed investment broker.
The Investment Intermediaries Act Is A Law That Regulates Investment intermediaries
The Investment Intermediaries Act of 1995 (Act) applies to those who act (or pretend to act) as intermediaries. No entity may act as, or pretend to function as, an investment firm, inside or outside Ireland, without the Bank central’s permission, according to section 9 of the Act. The woman was arrested in this case because of the type of fraud she was perpetrating – in this case, she offered to invest the victim’s money while claiming to be a middleman. The Central Bank requires firms that operate as intermediaries to follow the procedures allocated to retail intermediaries, which might take up to 90 days.
Otherwise, the person or entity making the request will have to come to a complete halt. AGS Financial Services Limited and ABM Financial Advisers Limited, for example, are authorised to act in such capacity under the law. The woman’s activities had been under surveillance by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) for some months prior to her arrest, which was ironic. The victim was duped into depositing a huge sum of money into an account with promises of bitcoin investments, according to officials. The GNECB then contacted the banks to determine the name of the person who moved the funds after being notified.
Some of the funds were frozen and returned to the investor after they were discovered, but the rest was sadly converted to cryptocurrency utilising virtual asset service providers and then transferred to offshore banking accounts. Under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, the woman is currently held at Irishtown Guard Station.
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Determine The Type Of Con You’re Dealing With
The virtual currency space also carries with it an avalanche of cryptocurrency frauds, making it all the more important to know what kind of scam you’re dealing with. Unfortunately, the most prevalent cryptocurrency scams include the culprit stealing fiat currency and then converting it to cryptocurrency as quickly as possible to avoid being tracked and/or detected. Traditional phishing techniques aren’t immune to this world, where third-party attackers wait for victims to enter what look to be legitimate websites, social network accounts, and investment possibilities — only to get away with it. Your social media accounts, seed phrase, and, in the end, money are all at risk.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the past year as mainstream adoption has accelerated, it’s that FOMO is real, and people will go to any length to protect their spot in line, even if it means ignoring logic and common sense. Let’s take a look at some of the frauds we’ve encountered over the last several months:
Retirement Fraud
An person in the United Kingdom lost his retirement funds to fraudsters after being convinced that investing would better his lifestyle. Fraudsters demanded further payments until he was left with a £250,000 debt due to a cognitively-impairing illness. In 2021, a fraudster targeted 12 percent of the 36 million adults conned, according to Citizens Advice, who offered phoney investments or get-rich-quick scams.
Investor Impersonation
BeInCrypto revealed in October 2021 that a man in India pretended to be a female investor and offered significant crypto profits if they invested Rs. 45,700. After transferring Rs. 25,100 to the fraudster and receiving nothing in return, she filed a police report.
Celebrity Endorsements
According to the BBC, several of the frauds contained phoney adverts backed by celebrities including Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The controversy has also engulfed England football manager Gareth Southgate, whose name has been exploited to promote counterfeit money.
Social Media
Fake Youtube live broadcasts are another technique for thieves to deceive unsuspecting victims. According to Satang Narang, a researcher, phoney YouTube giveaways resulted in a loss of $8.9 million in investment monies. Using stolen content, the authors promote themselves as cryptocurrency experts and provide a link to a phoney giveaway. To receive the gift, the user must transfer them cryptocurrency.
Fake Novel
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States recently issued a warning about a romantic scam, especially because Valentine’s Day is approaching. Victims above the age of sixty are usually duped into believing they have a close relationship with the offender. The offender allegedly takes money from the victim in order to make a profit. When it comes time to withdraw the money, the con artists demand payment of a charge. The scammers vanish after the victim pays the price.
Nancy J. Allen is a crypto enthusiast, with a major in macroeconomics and minor in business statistics. She believes that cryptocurrencies inspire people to be their own banks, and step aside from traditional monetary exchange systems. She is also intrigued by blockchain technology and its functioning. She frequently researches, and posts content on the top altcoins, their theoretical working principles and technical price predictions.
