Cyber Investment Scams
Investment scams – Most frequent questions from our clients
How can I immediately understand that I have become a victim of fraud before it is too late?
Sadly, the majority of people are attracted to quick money, and that is precisely the foundation upon which the offenders build their strategies. Therefore, in every case that we have handled thus far, the perpetrators first ask the victim to invest a meager sum of 250–500 euros. They do this because they are well aware that the typical Greek will “risk” such a sum to ascertain the reliability of the company that is being recommended to him as an investment and whether there is a chance that he will make a sizable profit. As a result, the victims’ initial investment nearly doubles in a matter of days, typically a week, which serves as the first clue that the company they have been trading with is a group of con artists. At this point, it should be noted that our systemic banks provide investment services from specialized financial advisors to their best clients (those with deposits exceeding one million euros). These clients invest their money safely, with an average annual profit yield of 3% on capital for low- and medium-risk investments and 6% for high-risk investments. Thus, if we were to become VIP clients at a bank and give it the 250 euros we gave the investment company mentioned above, we would receive a 15 euro profit back from the bank after a year. A potential investor would understandably wonder in these circumstances, “How is it possible that an investment company (supposedly) manages to double our money in a week?” This is the first clue, and once we see it, we will have to acknowledge that we have lost 250 euros and cut off all contact with the offending parties. Additionally, I think it’s socially acceptable to let the Capital Market Commission know. The Commission keeps a list of unlicensed businesses that have been reported on its website.
How do we know that a company is really reliable or not?
Though it is obviously impossible to know for sure, there are ways to conduct independent research and draw reliable conclusions. Therefore, the first thing we should do is ask the person who approached us for the full name of the company, the address of its headquarters, and information about whether or not it is licensed and under what supervision authority. At that time, we’ll ask him to email us this information in writing. At that point, we will be able to go to the Capital Market Commission’s website and: – verify whether this business is authorized to conduct business in Greece. Verify the suspicious companies on the Capital Market Commission’s website by looking through the List of Warnings. If we’ve been informed that the Supervisory Authority is located overseas, we should go to their website to make sure the company we’ve been presented with is, in fact, licensed by them.
If I understand that they are trying to cheat me, what can I do?
If you haven’t paid them money, you should cut off all contact with them right away. These people have spent countless hours researching how to approach you, they are skilled manipulators, and they can easily persuade you, even if it seems extreme to you. The same holds true if you have given them a small sum; the expense of the legal action necessary to recover the stolen capital may exceed that of the capital itself. If you have contributed sufficient funds, you ought to speak with a specialist attorney who is familiar with the topic, has experience with the caseload, and is qualified to handle these kinds of matters.
How long can an investment fraud case last?
Sadly, the offenders have no moral boundaries and no compassion for the people they harm. Instead, they will make every effort to divert their attention. In fact, the perpetrators, posing as helping them with these tasks, ask the victims to install a remote assistance program on their computer, such as teamviewer or anydesk, through which they break into their computer and manage and see their personal data, such as their bank deposits. This is because the victims are typically people who lack the digital knowledge necessary to safely carry out actions like opening an account on platforms, exchanges, etc. Therefore, the only thing that is certain when the offender is aware of, say, that we have 25,000 euros in our account and has already taken 5,000 euros from us, is that he will make every effort to take the remaining 20,000 euros from us.
If I inform my bank that the deposits I made are the product of fraud, will they give me my money back?
This brings up a serious problem: false information has been propagated recently, even by those employed by institutions, as far as I can tell. First things first: there are two crucial phases of investment fraud. First, the victim sends the perpetrators a small initial payment. At this point, the victim begins to trust the perpetrators because they are operating within a believable framework. For example, the victim registers on a platform, sees his name, the money he has invested, and, of course, is aware of the illusory returns that will encourage him to invest more money. Transferring the first sizable sum to the offenders is the second step. As of yet, We aren’t aware of any instance in which the attackers took a sizable sum—in installments of 250 or 500 euros—from the victim. Conversely, in every instance, the victims make a small initial payment and a larger subsequent payment, naturally based on their individual financial capacity. After the victim has transferred funds to an account held by a third party overseas, he has two days to cancel the transfer and get his money back. It goes without saying that a revocation application prepared by a qualified attorney, which will legally hold the Bank accountable for its actions, is preferable to a simple revocation petition submitted by the victim. However, after those two days have elapsed and the money has been taken by the offenders, a court order is required in order to return the money, seize it, or freeze account balances. Furthermore, a pertinent lawsuit needs to be filed before a court order can be issued. Thus, the lawsuit is our tool that will allow us to get our money back.
What’s the point of taking legal action since the chances of getting my money back are zero?
Although the likelihood is not zero, it is generally not a good idea to start procedures for amounts less than 4,000 euros, in my opinion. But there are also those who want to punish the offenders and find moral justification for their actions, and this is totally acceptable!
Why not get the things I need and move here by myself? That is, should I report the incident on my own by going to the Electronic Crime Prosecution?
Without a doubt, the Directorate for the Prosecution of Electronic Crime is a fantastic department. But we should keep in mind that it is accused of very serious crimes like child pornography, minor suicides via the internet, etc. It is therefore a free gift for the victim to represent themselves and file a lawsuit. We would even venture to predict that the lawsuit brought by a colleague who isn’t a specialist will most likely end in the same way. Keep in mind that the prosecution of electronic crime is our weapon. it will track down and apprehend the offenders, but we need to know how to support it, or how to arm it!
Why should I not contact Interpol or Europol directly since they are superior to the Greek police and the Electronic Crime Prosecution?
In the simplest terms imaginable, Interpol is a global organization that serves as a network of cooperation between the police departments of its member nations. Information is provided by Interpol, enabling cooperation between member country police forces. As such, the citizen is unable to address it or gain access to it. Moreover, Europol is a European Union institution that can only be contacted through particular procedures by judicial and prosecutorial authorities. That is, a police officer working for a local police department, for instance, is not able to call Europol and have a conversation. To put it briefly, the citizen is unable to access any of these two organizations.
How can I make a safe investment?
The most basic step is information. There are many sources of information, books, seminars, courses through which we can acquire a basic level of knowledge in order to be able to control our own movements and know what we are doing.
I found a related advertisement on the Internet of an investment company that promises profits.
The company’s website appears legitimate in all respects, why should I not invest? Invest after you have done the necessary check as I said at the beginning. However, the best thing is that we can invest our capital ourselves without the assistance of third parties.
Why is it unreasonable for my profits to rise rapidly after I have invested enough money?
A basic rule of economics is the following: Low return, low risk of loss, high return, high risk.
Suppose I have sent documents to people who want to defraud me. Am I at some risk, short term or long term?
In general, we have to be very careful when we transmit our personal data on the internet, because in addition to the visible internet (e.g. the Google search engine) there is also the dark web, through which 80% of the total information is circulated internet including stolen data of natural persons which help the astute to commit fraud.
Is it possible to leave no traces on the internet while browsing?
No. Our electronic footprint when we act online exists and cannot be erased. However, those in the know cover their tracks until they make a mistake or their security systems fail and they are exposed.
How to recover cybercrime scammed funds?
Recover funds lost to scams or fraud online. Start the process now – get what’s yours back.
Contact Economou & Economou best cyberlaw lawyers at econlaw@live.com or at (+30) 210 3603824 or fill the contact form if you need legal advice for cybercrime attacks, hacking, phishing, digital bank account fraud transactions.
