Cryptocurrency Fraud Leads to £2 million worth of losses this summer

Action Fraud is warning the public about fraudsters advertising 'get rich quick' investments to scam people out of money.

The latest statistics from Action Fraud show that in June and July, victims reported losing £2,059,501.29 to cryptocurrency scams – an average of £10,095.59 per person.

In the same period, 203 reports of this type of fraud were made to Action Fraud.

How is this happening?
Fraudsters are cold calling victims and using social media platforms to advertise 'get rich quick' investments in mining and trading in cryptocurrencies.

Fraudsters will convince victims to sign up to cryptocurrency investment websites and to part with their personal details such as credit card details and driving licences to open a trading account. The victim will then make an initial minimum deposit, after which the fraudster will call them to persuade them to invest again in order to achieve a greater profit.

In some cases, victims have realised that they have been defrauded, but only after the website has been deactivated and the suspects can no longer be contacted.

Between 1 June 2018 and 31 July 2018, 203 reports of fraud involving cryptocurrency were reported to Action Fraud. The total reported loss was £2,059,501.29.

CLICK HERE for more details and advice for avoiding fraud.