Due to the presence of social media in our daily lives, investment scams are more common than ever, and it is necessary for everyone to take steps to alert and protect themselves.
How to spot an investment scam?
Overly encouraging sales
One of the best ways to spot an investment scam, or any online scam, is to promise guaranteed high returns with minimal associated risks. In the world of investing, everything takes time and nurturing. When a broker or financial advisor promises to double your money in a matter of days without any effort on your part, you may find yourself trapped in a potential scam.
"Golden opportunity"
Scammers often take advantage of less informed investors and novice traders. Scammers will often promote investment opportunities as "one-in-a-million" opportunities, forcing you and others to invest in what appears to be a promising market. These practices are common in more complex market segments, typically cryptocurrencies or technology etc.
Scammers will take advantage of an investor's limited knowledge of a particular security or investment, using their purported market experience to lure someone into investing. While investment opportunities exist in the emerging markets space, make sure you are well-informed and have done enough research before investing in anything you don't understand.
cold call or email
Investment firms and brokers don’t contact potential clients through cold calls or emails, or even social media. Any so-called broker who contacts you unsolicited is likely a malicious scammer, and you need to be wary of these types of interactions. Be on the lookout for any suspicious messages, emails, or phone numbers that may have attempted to contact you over the past few weeks, and see if you can report these messages to the authorities.
Financial fraud has surged on social media, how can netizens identify scams?
Too little effective company information
Maybe you stumble upon an investment broker or a good investment opportunity, but, after doing some digging online and asking around, you begin to see that there is limited information available online about the company.
Any brokerage or investment company will need to be registered with the necessary regulatory authorities in your country in order to operate freely. Make sure you do a thorough research on any broker or company beforehand.
Misleading customer reviews
Another red flag to watch out for is misleading or often false customer reviews. Some scammers will set up fake accounts on social media or search engines to generate fake customer reviews. This is often done to advertise their products and services, which may seem more legitimate to unsuspecting customers.
Investing is not a get-rich-quick scheme
Any professional or experienced investor will tell you that it takes years of research, practice, and many failures to successfully generate substantial income from investing in the open market or Forex market. Scammers often send money to people who don't know
What should you do if you feel you've been scammed?
Unfortunately, due to the sophistication of social media scams, even if you take every possible step to ensure you don't fall for a scam, it can still happen to you. What should you do if you realize you may have been defrauded?
Contact your bank
The first attempt should be to get the money back. Often banks will offer chargeback options that allow users to contact their bank and try to get back the money that has left their account. While there's no guarantee this is possible, it's worth the effort.
Additionally, you'll want to close all bank accounts and block access to your credit cards for added security. While it is recommended to provide minimal banking and financial information over the phone, be sure to protect your account from any further potential risk. Be sure to inform your bank of the incident and make sure they monitor your account for any suspicious activity.
While it is recommended to provide minimal banking and financial information over the phone, to ensure your account is protected from any further potential risk, be sure to notify your bank of the incident and ensure they monitor your account for any suspicious activity.
Gather all necessary information and call the police
Next, you need to collect as much information as possible and call the police, including any names, contact numbers, email accounts, or social media handles. This information can be used to help track down scammers or be added to a database.
Share your information
Let other netizens know about the incident and share any possible information you may have about the scammers, their names and companies. While you may want to lay low and minimize your online activity for now, please share available information with your followers to help raise awareness of these malicious actors and how they can spot potential fake scams.
Update your security information
As an added security measure, please update all security information on all devices and social media platforms. Because online scams are so sophisticated, you need to be extra careful about any suspicious emails, links, and messages you open on your device. It is recommended to use strong and complex passwords for all your social media platforms, including any banking information, to ensure your security.
Stay informed
Stay up to date on any new scams that have occurred on social media in recent weeks. The more you know about possible investment scams or any other type of scam, the easier it will be for you to identify malicious actors online.
