Entry is free, exit — with empty pockets and shattered dreams.
The FBI warns investors about a new wave of fraud disguised as closed investment clubs in social networks and messengers. These communities are often backed by organizers of pump-and-dump schemes — artificially inflating the value of cryptocurrency followed by a crash, resulting in victims being left with devalued assets.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in the past year the number of complaints about such schemes has increased more than threefold. Victims are usually users who are invited to supposedly elite investment chats through advertisements or personal messages promising quick profits.
To create an illusion of reliability, scammers use fake accounts of well-known brokers or disguise themselves as influential financial analysts. Next, potential investors are moved to closed chats on secure platforms, where the main stage of deception begins.
There, participants are convinced to acquire certain tokens — most often obscure and cheap ones. Meanwhile, the perpetrators hide that they themselves own large amounts of these cryptocurrencies. The more people get involved in buying, the higher the price skyrockets.
As soon as the price reaches the desired level, the organizers sell off their holdings, locking in profits. After this, the price plummets, and trusting investors are left with empty pockets.
The FBI reminds: investment scams remain the most costly of all types of internet fraud. Last year, reported losses from such schemes exceeded $6.6 billion — a significant share of the total damage from cybercrime.
To avoid getting hooked, experts advise paying attention to a number of alarming signs:
1. Unexpected investment advice received through random messages or advertisements that lead to closed chats and groups.
2. Accounts posing as well-known experts or financial consultants offering allegedly exclusive recommendations.
3. Urgent calls to invest in tokens under the pretext of a sensational event: a launch, a technological breakthrough, or receiving large investments.
4. Promises of rapid token value growth and guarantees of compensation for potential losses.
5. Attempts to obtain personal data or access to financial accounts under the guise of processing transactions or receiving bonuses.
According to investigations, crypto scammers actively attract people through social networks, promising quick profits and inviting them to fake investment chats. This approach has helped fraudsters launder hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years.
The FBI urges anyone who suspects they may have fallen victim to such schemes to immediately report the incident through the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) - a division of the FBI.