Online Investment Scam Called “Bitcoin Hack”

The Bermuda Police Service advised they are aware of an online investment scam, in which members of the public are encouraged to invest in a cryptocurrency auto-trading programme called “Bitcoin Hack”.

A police spokesperson said, “The scam involves using the names and images of well-known individuals including Governor, Rena Lalgie, identifying them as having invested in this scheme and benefitted from significant returns.

“Individuals behind this fraud have previously used the likeness of Premier David Burt and former Finance Minister, Curtis Dickinson. Most appear as advertisements on Facebook.

How the investment scam works:

“The user clicks the link in the advertisement and is invited to open an online account which is funded by a credit or debit card. During the account opening process, the on-boarding website looks professional and shows a balance of $250 when the users credit card details are entered.

“The users “online account” shows their initial $250 balance massively increase over the next couple of days [which the victim is told is through Bitcoin trading] until it reaches a stage where it shows a $25,0000+ balance.

“The victim is invited to ‘cash-out’, although there is usually a much bigger fee to do so [usually around $5,000]. By now the victim has lost a lot of money and also their credit / debit card are compromised & may be used at a later stage.

“Do not click on that link in the advertisement.

The problem:

• “Recovery of victim’s funds is very difficult.

• “Formal overseas request for assistance is difficult to get in situations where losses are below an amount of $10,000.

• “The fraudulent websites are closed by law enforcement but are replaced within minutes.

“We once again warn, if it looks too good to be true, more often than not, it is. Do not click on the link in the advertisement and avoid falling victim to this latest version of online fraud.”

#Scams

Category: All, technology