Guelph, Ont., police are seeing an increase in cryptocurrency investment scams and trying to warn the community about some of the ways people are losing money.
In a news release on Monday, the service said this is not a localized scam and that other major cities have been hit as well. Read more: Cryptocurrency fraud ‘exploding’ in Canada, according to consumer advocacy groups Police said there have been reports of victims being contacted through social media platforms where the suspect will convince them to make investments in cryptocurrency through online transactions. “The suspect is very well versed and knowledgeable in cryptocurrency and makes promises of large returns on investments,” police said. “Though cryptocurrency can be a means of legitimate investing, fraudsters have capitalized on the inexperience of the public and are utilizing several fraudulent online platforms to appear legitimate to the unsuspecting victim.” The service said fraudsters are directing victims to a website that appears legitimate, and once logged in with a username and password, victims watch their investment grow at an astonishing rate.
Police said this leads the victim to want to invest more, making their loss that much more substantial. Read more: More than $1 million lost to crypto scams in 2021, Guelph police say “Once the victim tries to withdraw the funds or use their ‘earnings’ to make further investments, they are told that they cannot and that they are locked in unless they make an additional substantial investment of their own funds,” police said. “It is at this time that the fraudster will either cease communication with the victim or will try to delay them in making withdrawals by telling them that they agreed to