The Swedish financial regulator reported a troubling
trend in investment fraud targeting Bitcoin users during the third quarter of
2023. The Financial Supervisory Authority said thousands of consumers fall
victim to various schemes yearly.
In the third quarter, approximately 1,216 companies
targeted private individuals through investment fraud. According to the FSA,
this significant increase compared to the previous year underscores the
continuous growth of investment scams.
Mikael Sandahl, the Financial Inspector at the FSA,
said in a statement translated from Swedish: “Fraud is an important and
growing source of funding for criminal gangs and turns over billions of
dollars. With promises of easy investments and big profits, consumers are
tricked into investing. The continued high number of warnings reflects our view
that this is a growing problem.”
One prominent lure utilized by fraudsters is
Bitcoin. Scammers have been targeting consumers by claiming they have
substantial Bitcoins associated with a fictitious entity known as the
“CFDS cryptocurrency platform.” These unscrupulous individuals offer
consumers access to supposed holdings valued at over one million Swedish kronor
in exchange for a fee.
Det har blivit allt vanligare att bedragare kontaktar konsumenter via mejl och påstår att de har kryptovalutor registrerade på personens mejladress. Konsumenter utlovas att de ska kunna få loss pengarna mot en avgift. https://t.co/ziSTfVVgCo
— Finansinspektionen (@finansinsp) October 20, 2023
Besides Bitcoin
