The public lost enormous sums of money as a result of many investment fraud occurrences, prompting the Gardaà to issue a warning, reports The Mirror.
In Ireland, investment fraud victims lost more than €28 million in 2023 compared to the total losses in 2021 and 2022. More money has been taken so far this year than it did in whole in 2022 or 2021.
When thieves pretend to be investment managers in order to dupe someone into investing money in fictitious ideas and projects, this is known as investment fraud.
These cunning crooks are taking advantage of the high cost of living in this period by copying webpages and targeting victims with online and social media advertisements that offer “once in a lifetime opportunities” to invest immediately with quick and substantial financial rewards.
More than 1,117 persons have reported instances of investment fraud to An Garda SÃochána between January 2020 and August of this year. The terms “Bitcoin” or “Crypto” were mentioned in 44% of the occurrences that were recorded, reports The Mirror.
Men continue to be the most vulnerable to this kind of scam and are increasingly becoming its victims. Over half of all victims are over 40 years old, with men accounting for 64% of victims during the last four years.
The following investment fraud occurrences were reported to the Gardaà during the first seven months of this year:
Earlier this year, a victim came forward to claim seeing a post about financial prospects in social media advertising, reports The Mirror.
The woman contacted the firm, which she thought was authentic, and agreed to move €28,600 from her Revolut account to another during their conversation. An Garda SÃochána is actively looking into this crime.
In a second case, a man discovered a trading broker online and reported to Gardaà that he had been the victim of an investment scam, reports The Mirror.
following making many further deposits following his original €250 investment, he saw a sharp increase in his equity. Because he was able to withdraw €5,000, he thought the business was real.
He kept making large investments, and in a matter of weeks, he had put in €250,000. The victim experienced significant financial loss as a result of the internet trading broker’s disappearance. Investigating are the GardaÃ, reports The Mirror.
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