In order to expose an investment fraud, scam the financial expert Chris Sugira deliberately allowed himself to be defrauded. He was promised profits of between 500 and 22,000 euro, money he of course never saw. In the VRT’s consumer affairs programme ‘WinWin’ Chris Sugira exposed how the scam works.
Financial expert lets himself be defrauded in order to expose an investment fraud scam
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Chris Sugira clicked on an advertisement on social media where another well-known Flemish financial expert Paul D’Hoore recommends an investment.
The promises made in the advertisement are too good to be true. An initial investment of 250 euro could give a return of up to 40,000 euro.
Fruadsters called back straight away
After Chris Sugira had filled in his contact details online, the fraudsters telephoned him straight away. They explained everything step-by-step, directed him to various websites and convinced him to send them money that he first had to change into Bitcoin.
Quick profit
The modest sum of 100 euro that Chris Sugira invested at first appeared to be growing rapidly and not much later he invested a further 400 euro.
In just one week the 500 euro invested was worth 800 euro. "I thought that this was the perfect time to cash in my investment”.
Fobbed of with promises, no sign of any cash
“I was told that I couldn’t get my money back straight away and had to wait a long time before they contacted me again. The fraudsters waited several days. They deliberately let me become uneasy”.
When they contacted Chris Sugira again the 500 euro was suddenly worth 22,000 euro. "I told them that this was a tidy profit and that it was enough for me. I asked them to transfer me the money. However, the money did not appear on my account”.
Cash frozen
Eventually Chris Sugira is told that his 22,000 euro had been frozen by some or other financial watchdog. “The only thing I had to do to get it was pay another 9,000 euro in so-called taxes.”
Here the fraudsters were going for big bucks using a tried and tested method. By suggesting even bigger profits to Chris Sugira they attempted to make him 9,000 euro the poorer.
He enlisted the services of a hacker to find out where his money had gone. It soon became clear what he in fact actually already knew. He had lost his 500 euro and the fictious 22,000 euro “profit”. Chris Sugira confronted the fraudsters and told them that he was going to report them to the police. Their reaction “the police can’t do anything to them anyway” told all.
The chance that Chris Sugira will ever see his money again is zero. However, by reporting what happened to police and the financial services watchdog FSMA he can perhaps ensure that the fraudsters don’t defraud anyone else.
Use this check list to ensure that you invest safely
1. Think critically when you see advertisements for “lucrative investments” on social media or when you receive an unsolicited, fantastic investment proposal.
2. Don't be pressured into "make a quick decision."
3. Always verify the identity of those offering the investment opportunity (name, registered office, etc.) Never trust a company that is unable to identify you correctly. In cases of identity theft, it's also crucial to compare contact information and compare this with official data contained in business registers.
4.Unsolicited phone calls or emails from strangers are a red flag. Hang up immediately and don't respond.
5.Be wary if your contact asks you to deposit money into an account in a country other than their own.
6. Bonafide companies don't send emails via generic email services like Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo.
7. Demand clear and understandable information from the other party. Only invest in financial products you understand.
8. Last but not least, if an offer is too good to be true, it probably is.