The Fraud Blog
An investigation by a credentialed expert can improve the chances of recovering money from cryptocurrency crimes, but victims should be highly suspicious of firms that make grand promises and guarantees.
Investment scams have become the most commonly reported and financially destructive form of online crime, mostly due to cryptocurrency schemes, according to the FBI.
It is possible to recoup losses from a cryptocurrency fraud scheme — but the odds are not always favorable. Here are five steps for fraud victims to follow to maximize their chances for successful restitution.
Cyber Security Plus shares insights on cryptocurrency forensics and cryptocurrency tracing techniques in a recent interview with CoinDesk.
The global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created opportunities for fraudsters and unscrupulous criminals to take advantage of financially desperate victims and vulnerable populations.
Settlements and regulatory actions continue after two decades of systematic compliance failures in the life insurance industry, according to a recent article in The CPA Journal by Robert Casey, president of Cyber Security Plus.
Financial fraud is a big problem for small businesses. Small companies tend to lose almost twice as much money from each occurrence of fraud, compared to comparable incidents at medium-sized and large corporations, according to a recent study.
Red flags for potential investment fraud in Prime Bank programs include claims of risk-free returns as high as 40 percent in a short-term offering. Promoters may falsely claim the securities are backed by major banks or international finance organizations such as the World Bank or Federal Reserve.
Advance fee scams are prevalent on the internet. They are also known as “419” scams, in reference to the relevant section of the criminal code in Nigeria where many of these schemes originate. Fraudsters solicit victims by promising to share a large sum of money, in return for an up-front payment.
Skepticism and scrutiny should be given to any retail broker who promises their foreign exchange (forex) trading program will deliver easy or guaranteed profits. If an investment opportunity involving foreign currencies sounds too good to be true, it may be a form of forex fraud.
Perpetrators of affinity frauds seek to manipulate and leverage the high level of trust among tight-knit and insular communities, using word-of-mouth referrals to recruit members into pyramid schemes and similar investment frauds.
Unscrupulous promoters “pump” a publicly traded security, company stock or cryptocurrency by pitching private investors with false and misleading statements about potential returns. The share price crashes as soon as the insiders sell their shares.
Precious metals are an alternative market that can occasionally outperform traditional investments — but beware of unsolicited pitches from metal dealers and metal merchants that promise easy profits by buying and trading gold, silver, palladium, platinum or rare earth metals.
