investment fraud | 

Man who lost €100k after clicking on social media ad among scam victims robbed of €25million

Investment frauds extracted €60m out of victims in four years

Today at 06:46

More than €25m was reported stolen from investment fraud victims here last year, including a man in his 40s who was cheated out of €100,000 after he clicked on a social media advert.

In the past four years, almost €60m has been stolen from victims of investment fraud here, with 55 people falling victims to scammers in the first two months of this year alone.

Last January, a man in his 70s based in the east, reported how he had more than €190,000 stolen after he had invested the money in what he thought was a legitimate British company.

In another scam, a man in his 50s had €121,000 stolen through investment fraud after he thought he was legitimately engaged in online trading and was communicating with someone online on it.

The victim had access to an online trading app and believed he could see his funds being traded. However, the app was not legitimate.

A woman in her 60s saw an advert on social media about an investment opportunity in cryptocurrency and later reported that it led to the theft of €50,000 through investment fraud.

Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau warned that people were always going to be attracted to the promise of big profits.

“Those affected by this type of crime are ordinary people who really, unfortunately can lose their life savings, nest-eggs or a retirement lump sum,” he said.

Investment fraud happens when criminals pose as investment managers to fool someone into investing money in non-existent financial schemes or projects.

Criminals clone genuine web pages and attract victims through online and social media adverts by promising “once-in-a-lifetime opportunities” to invest instantly with fast and large returns.

Men are increasingly becoming the victim of this type of fraud, gardaí have warned, with the majority of victims last year (69pc) being male. Most were aged over 40.

In May last year, a man in his 40s clicked on a social media link advertising investment opportunities, entered his contact details and was called by someone pretending to be from a bank talking about bonds, which led to him losing €100,000.

In another con, a victim in his 60s reported that he had been contacted online about investing with a British financial institution.

After being convinced by the person he was communicating with, he transferred funds and lost €300,000.

An Garda Síochana has urged the public not to invest until they get ­reliable financial and legal advice or check the regulatory status of the company.

They also stressed that investors should not respond to pop-ups, social media ads or messages boasting about investment returns.

Officers also advised consumers to ignore unsolicited approaches or cold calls about investments, to beware of celebrity-endorsed investments and be careful of fake cryptocurrency, bank bonds and hedge funds.

Mr Cryan said fraudsters sounded convincing, were well-rehearsed, prepared for potential questions and were “excellent actors”.

“They may purport to be working with a reputable firm and may even quote authorisation numbers or give the real address of a legitimate firm,” he said, stressing it was all just a ploy.