Anna:
Everyone around was just saying: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, you can instantly get rich on them. But how to make money on them, how to buy, sell, what to choose? It was difficult for me to figure it out.
And then an advertisement for an investment company came across on the Internet, which just offered to invest in a crypt and make a profit without any special effort and knowledge. They argued that in economically unstable times, you can make excellent money on such modern tools as cryptocurrency.
Nice site, the company is registered in England, there is a British license, everything looks solid. I wrote to the manager in the chat, he answered very quickly. He said that the company is investing in crypto, but not only. Also in the stock of well-known companies such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft.
To invest, you just need to create a personal account and deposit money into the account. And you can even start with $ 1. You make a transfer from a bank card or e-wallet. And you deduce the same. And if you already have a cryptocurrency, then you can invest it and also earn.
Well, I decided to try it - I invested $ 10. For the first week, $ 1 dripped from above. I tried to withdraw money back to the card - everything is ok. I contributed $ 15 and received $ 1. I was glad that everything really works, I told my friends that I had found an excellent company.
The manager convinced me to invest more - then the income will be solid. Well, I think, I will invest the accumulated $ 1000, it will be another matter. The account grew by leaps and bounds, but I urgently needed money to repair the car, I decided to withdraw half of it.
This is where the problems began. The site gave an error, the manager in the chat answered with some kind of automatic phrases that supposedly the payment was being processed and we had to wait. Then they demanded to go through personal identification, then they wrote that the verification would take up to 60 working days. And finally, they completely turned off the chat for me and technical support stopped responding.
And the friends who invested on my tip did not get anything either. Do we have a chance to get our money back?
Financial Culture Expert:
Anna came across a financial pyramid disguised as an investment company. It was necessary to first check whether the organization has a license that allows it to act as an intermediary in the financial market.
If a company is registered abroad and assures that there is a license, but only a foreign one, the risks of losing money are very high. In case of problems, the regulator, the police and the court will not be able to help investors in any way.
Most often, “large international company” refers to themselves as ordinary fraudsters who simply plan to collect as much money as possible and go into hiding.
A pyramid can be recognized by several signs:
The chances of getting the money back from Alla and her friends are slim, but it's still worth trying. First, you need to collect as many documents as possible that confirm the sending of money to scammers: a statement of card transactions, screenshots of chat correspondence. With this evidence, you need to go to the police. You can also write a statement to the prosecutor's office.
It makes sense to send information about the pyramid to the Bank - via the Internet reception or anonymous form. The regulator will conduct its investigation and transfer the data to law enforcement agencies. This can speed up the search and arrest of criminals.
It would be nice to try to look for other victims as well - and go to court together.
For more information on how to act if you have lost your investment in a fraudulent project, see the text " What to do if you become a victim of a pyramid scheme".
Everyone around was just saying: bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, you can instantly get rich on them. But how to make money on them, how to buy, sell, what to choose? It was difficult for me to figure it out.
And then an advertisement for an investment company came across on the Internet, which just offered to invest in a crypt and make a profit without any special effort and knowledge. They argued that in economically unstable times, you can make excellent money on such modern tools as cryptocurrency.
Nice site, the company is registered in England, there is a British license, everything looks solid. I wrote to the manager in the chat, he answered very quickly. He said that the company is investing in crypto, but not only. Also in the stock of well-known companies such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft.
To invest, you just need to create a personal account and deposit money into the account. And you can even start with $ 1. You make a transfer from a bank card or e-wallet. And you deduce the same. And if you already have a cryptocurrency, then you can invest it and also earn.
Well, I decided to try it - I invested $ 10. For the first week, $ 1 dripped from above. I tried to withdraw money back to the card - everything is ok. I contributed $ 15 and received $ 1. I was glad that everything really works, I told my friends that I had found an excellent company.
The manager convinced me to invest more - then the income will be solid. Well, I think, I will invest the accumulated $ 1000, it will be another matter. The account grew by leaps and bounds, but I urgently needed money to repair the car, I decided to withdraw half of it.
This is where the problems began. The site gave an error, the manager in the chat answered with some kind of automatic phrases that supposedly the payment was being processed and we had to wait. Then they demanded to go through personal identification, then they wrote that the verification would take up to 60 working days. And finally, they completely turned off the chat for me and technical support stopped responding.
And the friends who invested on my tip did not get anything either. Do we have a chance to get our money back?
Financial Culture Expert:
Anna came across a financial pyramid disguised as an investment company. It was necessary to first check whether the organization has a license that allows it to act as an intermediary in the financial market.
If a company is registered abroad and assures that there is a license, but only a foreign one, the risks of losing money are very high. In case of problems, the regulator, the police and the court will not be able to help investors in any way.
Most often, “large international company” refers to themselves as ordinary fraudsters who simply plan to collect as much money as possible and go into hiding.
A pyramid can be recognized by several signs:
- Super profit guarantee. Investing is always a risk. Only charlatans can promise profitability, and even huge ones. Some pyramids really pay interest for the first time so that people tell friends and acquaintances about their unheard of financial success, share their reviews on social networks. This allows fraudsters to quickly lure as many people into their networks as possible. But swindlers usually do not allow anyone to withdraw large amounts of money.
- Indistinct information about the project. The organizers of the pyramids often do not explain how the income will be generated. Instead, they get by with vague but promising phrases about "fantastically profitable instruments", "shares of world famous companies", "popular cryptocurrencies". However, sometimes the scheme for calculating income, on the contrary, is very detailed - and very confusing. In any case, you will not be shown financial documents confirming the investment. Indeed, in fact, scammers invest money only in their own pocket.
- Aggressive advertising. The pyramid builders are actively promoting their "profitable projects" on the Internet, encouraging investors to bring their acquaintances, and publishing rave reviews of "successful investors" on the site. It's not uncommon for popular bloggers to be paid to advertise the pyramid to their followers. The excess of the same type of positive feedback should rather alert - it is highly likely that they are fake.
- Lack of contacts for communication. Internet pyramids often simply do not provide either phone numbers or postal addresses. On their website, you can only order a call back or chat. Only those who have something to hide their contact information hide. This is done deliberately so that neither the depositors nor the police could find the scammers.
The chances of getting the money back from Alla and her friends are slim, but it's still worth trying. First, you need to collect as many documents as possible that confirm the sending of money to scammers: a statement of card transactions, screenshots of chat correspondence. With this evidence, you need to go to the police. You can also write a statement to the prosecutor's office.
It makes sense to send information about the pyramid to the Bank - via the Internet reception or anonymous form. The regulator will conduct its investigation and transfer the data to law enforcement agencies. This can speed up the search and arrest of criminals.
It would be nice to try to look for other victims as well - and go to court together.
For more information on how to act if you have lost your investment in a fraudulent project, see the text " What to do if you become a victim of a pyramid scheme".
