POLICE are warning potential investors to be cautious of Cryptocurrency schemes after a Sunshine Coast man was scammed out of $100,000 through an online trading platform.
The 54-year-old man initially invested $50,000 into a Cryptocurrency online investment scheme in October 2021, which had offered people an opportunity to profit through a legitimate trading platform. Over the following six months, the man was led to believe the scheme was genuine through online education and training, subsequently investing a further $50,000, with an offer to increase his level of investor membership to Platinum.
The scheme was devised to make the victim believe the trades and profits were genuine, when in fact the data was misleading. As part of the scam the man was informed he would not be able to draw on the false profits for a 12 month period.
The original account had been set up by scammers through the legitimate trading site, meaning the scammers also had withdrawal access under the provisions of the account.
Senior Sergeant Craig Mansfield from Sunshine Coast Criminal Investigation Branch said this type of fraud has been occurring in Queensland and internationally.
Victims are often diverted from email for contact to an App based encrypted communication platform that cannot be intercepted by police.
“Victims need to be aware of jurisdiction issues and the anonymity of crypto account holders,” Senior Sergeant Mansfield said.
“In this instance, the victim did not set the online trading coin wallet up, so it’s believed the withdrawals were undertaken by anonymous entities shortly after the deposits were made.
“Whilst police can investigate, given that most scammers are offshore, it is unlikely we can recover funds or even commence proceedings locally, however we will work with other jurisdictions nationally and internationally to further these investigations where possible.”
Potential investors are warned to be wary of the promise of significant returns or guaranteed returns, especially those with time limitations on when they can withdraw, which gives fraudsters a longer period to operate.
Queensland Police encourage people to be aware of the following red flags:
• If you are told you won’t have access to your funds for a set period
• Others offering to set up your Crypto Wallet for you
• Being lured into investment levels with terms such as Silver, Platinum or Gold level customers, as an example.
• If it’s too good to be true, it usually is not true.
If you have information for police, contact Policelink by providing information using the online suspicious activity form 24hrs per day at www.police.qld.gov.au/reporting.
Report crime information anonymously via Crime Stoppers. Call 1800 333 000 or report online at www.crimestoppersqld.com.au. Quote this reference number: QP2201182800
