Investment fraud warning issued as over €13.5m stolen from victims so far this year 

Over 1,117 people have reported incidents of investment fraud to Gardaí from January 2020 to August this year. 44% of these reports referenced digital currency such as Bitcoin or Crypto. Picture: Kin Cheung/PA

Gardaí have issued an urgent warning about a significant upsurge in investment fraud with more than €13.5m stolen from victims already this year, more than was taken in either 2022 or 2021.

Last year €28m was stolen, which was more than 2021 and 2022 put together.

One victim alone this year had €250,000 taken. He initially invested €250 with an online trading broker. After several more investments he noticed his equity rising rapidly. Believing the company was legitimate he continued to invest considerable sums of money and within weeks had invested €250,000. Then the broker disappeared. Gardaí are still investigating.

Investment fraud refers to when criminals pose as investment managers, fooling someone into investing money into schemes or projects that do not exist.

The criminals clone webpages and target others through online adverts which promise “once in a lifetime opportunities” to instantly invest with immediate and large financial returns.

Over 1,117 people have reported incidents of investment fraud to Gardaí from January 2020 to August this year. The total value of the monies lost over that period is €75m.

Some 44% of these reports referenced digital currency such as Bitcoin or Crypto.

Gardaí warn men are more likely to fall victim to this type of fraud, remaining most at risk.

Over the past four years, the majority of victims have been male (64%), while those aged over 40 make up over half of all victims.

Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau said investment schemes are becoming “more sophisticated than ever before”.

Sadly, those who become victims are ordinary, decent people that are having huge amounts of their life savings stolen from them be it their inheritance or a retirement lump sum.

The fraudsters involved in investment schemes will “sound convincing” and “claim to have insider knowledge”, but are only “career criminals” following a script, Detective Cryan said.

“It is crucially important that we are all mindful of who we are transferring money too and to be careful when sending via an international money transfer app to make sure it can be tracked,”

One victim this year saw a post on social media advertising investment opportunities, before transferring €28,600 from her Revolut account to the company, whom she believed was legitimate.

This crime is currently being investigated by gardaí.

Gardaí advises the public to refrain from investing money until receiving reliable financial and legal advice and ignore unsolicited approaches about investments.

Other ways to avoid investment fraud include:

• Check the regulatory status of the company via the Central Bank of Ireland webpage.

• Do not respond to pop-up/social media ads or messages with claims about investment returns.

• Beware of celebrity-endorsed investments: they may not even know that their name is being used.

• Be careful of cryptocurrency, bank bonds and hedge fund investment opportunities that present unusually high percentage returns.

• Be wary of fake wallets for storing your cryptocurrency - these can be scams for malware to infect or control your computer.

• Do not click on links for webpages that you don’t know and always check that the site is HTTPS secured.

• Never disclose personal data or bank account passwords or codes.

"Investment fraud can easily happen and no one is to be judged – we really encourage anyone who has been a victim in the past or who has more recently become a victim of investment fraud to please come forward and speak with us in any garda station,” Detective Cryan said.