Warnings for investment fraud continue to increase

The Swedish financial market regulator, Finansinspektionen (FI), has published a press statement to inform and make aware of the continuing trend in investment fraud. In the press release, the regulator presents some latest statistics in this matter and outlines some common patterns observed in this context which may help firms and retail investors alike to prevent falling victim to such fraud.
Specifically, FI notes that during the first half of this year (2023), the regulator issued 1,496 warnings about unauthorized firms and websites, a significant increase from 1,377 warnings during the same period in 2022. This surge is attributed to international cooperation with foreign supervisory authorities and reports of Swedish consumers falling victim to such scams.
##### The most common fraud patterns observed by FI include the following:
(1) Cryptocurrency payment trend:
A noteworthy trend is the growing use of cryptocurrency as a preferred payment method by fraudsters. They facilitate payments through cryptocurrency exchanges to purportedly affiliated crypto wallets, bypassing increased scrutiny from major banks. Mikael Sandahl, an FI supervisor, warns that legitimate firms do not request payment in cryptocurrency.
(2) Remote connection requests:
Fraudsters often request remote access to victims‘ computers, providing them access to bank accounts and financial information. FI strongly advises against allowing unknown individuals remote access to computers, emphasizing the importance of security.
(3) Discounted American Shares:
Another prevalent fraud involves offering well-known American shares at discounted rates, typically initiated through text messages with links to investment opportunities. Consumers are cautioned to be skeptical of offers that seem too good to be true.
(4) Examples of Fraudulent Companies:
During the second quarter, FI issued warnings about fictitious companies like Tierra500 and Deltascrypto. These entities claim to offer trading in CFD contracts, shares, or cryptocurrencies. Fraudulent companies often create credible facades, making it challenging to identify them as false, which also shows the measures fraudsters are ready and able to take to deceive their victims.