People across Ireland were scammed out of millions of euro last year through investment fraud.
Over €25 million was stolen in 2023 alone. In the first two months of 2024, a further 55 people have fallen victim to money scams.
Men are increasingly becoming the victim of this type of fraud, gardaí report.
In May 2023, a man in his 40s clicked on a social media link advertising investment opportunities and entered contact details. He was later contacted by phone by a person purporting to be from a reputable financial institution about purchasing bank bonds. The victim was defrauded €100,000.
Another 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 had €300,000 stolen.
A woman in her 60s saw an advert on social media about an investment opportunity in cryptocurrency. She reported the theft of €50,000 through investment fraud.
Investment fraud is where criminals pose as investment managers to fool someone into investing money in schemes and projects that do not exist. During a period of high cost of living, these sophisticated criminals are taking advantage by cloning webpages and targeting victims through online and social media adverts by promising ‘once in a lifetime opportunities’ to instantly invest with fast and large financial returns.
Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau said, “Investment fraud can quite easily happen – the fraudster will sound convincing and claim to have insider knowledge but they are following a well-rehearsed script, they’re prepared for potential questions and they tend to be 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 but this is all a coy.
“I strongly encourage anyone who has been a victim in the past or who has more recently become a victim of investment fraud to please come forward and speak with us in any Garda Station.”
How to avoid investment fraud?
- Do not invest until you get reliable financial and legal advice
- Check the regulatory status of the company via the Central Bank of Ireland webpage
- Do not respond to pop-up/social media ads or messages with claims about investment returns
- Ignore unsolicited approaches or cold calls about investments
- Beware of celebrity-endorsed investments – they may not even know that their name is being used
- Be careful of cryptocurrency, bank bonds and hedge fund investment opportunities that present unusually high % returns
- Be wary of fake wallets for storing your cryptocurrency – these can be scams for malware to infect or control your computer
- Do not click on links for webpages that you don’t know and always check that the site is HTTPS secured
- Never allow anyone remote access to your computer or download Apps that can give others control of your computer – ‘AnyDesk’ is one example
- Take your time to consider before sending or transferring any money – get a second opinion from a friend, family member, colleague if not a financial advisor
- Never disclose personal data or bank account passwords or codes.
