I invested my money on a fake platform. How do I recover my funds?

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Fraud and scams are prevalent everywhere. In an ever-evolving world of technology, it makes it easier for criminals to target you from anywhere in the world.

Fraudsters spend time researching their victims and often have more information about them than we think. They take advantage of an individual’s instinctive willingness to trust and use this to build a rapport.

They can be charming, understanding, and appear knowledgeable and persuasive. After all, if they are successful in deceiving someone, the time spent researching them and building that trust is worthwhile. Scams are also becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Tactics used by fraudsters include:

Phishing websites

Fake websites (e.g., fund comparison websites) are used to obtain personal information, which is then used to make contact to offer an allegedly attractive investment opportunity.

Use of social media channels to provide alleged training to achieve high returns

Fraudsters may use social media and messaging applications to target large audiences through group chats and make it appear as if individuals in the group are making high returns and that others who do not follow would be missing out.

Spoofing

When fraudsters make it look like a message, email, or phone call is coming from a legitimate company by changing the sender name or number that you see.

Types of scams and fraud

Fraudsters can target you through many channels such as phone calls, text messages, social media, emails, or even the post.

Investment scams, including cryptocurrency scams

The fraudsters try to convince you to invest in something that either does not exist or is worthless. They may contact you out of the blue or after you have searched for a specific investment, where you enter your personal contact details.

They promise high investment returns. Common schemes include inviting individuals to stock or crypto training sessions on social media and offering to share trading signals. As part of cryptocurrency scams, victims may be prompted to place trades on various fake trading platforms and asked to deposit additional funds before withdrawing the returns of their fake investments.

Business Email Compromise (BEC) or Payment Diversion Fraud

Business email compromise (also known as payment diversion fraud or mandate fraud) occurs when fraudsters contact businesses by email purporting to be from a company or person known to them. The fraudsters will then request a payment or notify the business of a change in bank account details to divert payments to a bank account that the fraudsters control.

To appear more legitimate, the fraudsters may create fake email addresses that appear very similar to the one they are trying to impersonate, for example, by adding, removing, or replacing letters, and may doctor real invoices or send fake ones.

Social media scams

Fraudsters will set up fake social media accounts (e.g., LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, WeChat, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) either in the name of a legitimate company or pretending to be employees or affiliates of the company. They may use these channels to initiate contact with you and scam you.

To appear more legitimate, they may have a significant number of connections, which could include genuine employees of the company they are pretending to be from. Be wary of opportunities that are offered through these channels by unknown contacts!

Seek Professional Help

Recovering lost funds from investment and crypto scams can be challenging, especially without the necessary expertise. Consider seeking assistance from reputable recovery agencies like Legalcertifi. These agencies specialize in dealing with investment and cryptocurrency scams and have the knowledge and resources to track down scammers and recover funds.

Legalcertifi, for example, employs a team of experienced professionals who understand the intricacies of investment and cryptocurrency scams. They work diligently to investigate the scam, trace the funds, and engage with relevant authorities to recover your lost funds.