Irish people have lost a staggering €3million to investment fraud so far this year.
The vast majority of cases involved people being tricked into investing in cryptocurrency, primarily through pop-up ads and online serches.
When people enter their details on such a site, they are immediately contacted by fraudsters who are able to gain access to computers or bank account details.
Gardai say this type of fraud is often not reported, mainly due to embarrassment.
Another popular forum for con-artists are "aggressive sales pitches", where the victim is told they have a "once in a lifetime opportunity" to invest.
A shocking €2.94million was stolen in the first eight months of the year, while the total amount nabbed in 2019 was €3.3million.
According to gardai, almost 80% of those who reported such fraud were over the age of 40, while just 6% were under the age of 30.
Cases were recorded in all parts of Ireland.
At a media briefing this morning, gardai appealed to anyone who is a victim of such crimes to come forward.
They also urged people to take legal and financial advice before investing in anything, and not to respond to so-called "pop-up" ads online or "cold calls" to their phone.
A spokeswoman said: "Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is."
Key signs of investment fraud:
- The victim is cold called, i.e. they receive a telephone call out of the blue or receive an e-mail or are contacted via social media about a great investment opportunity
- The victim is rushed and pressured into making a decision there and then, with no opportunity or time to consider the investment opportunity
- There is a promise of a quick and profitable return on the investment with little or no risk, and
- If the victim does some research on the company name and see terms like ‘the reputation of this broker is doubtful’ or ‘at best it is an unregulated broker’ then caution should be taken and the victim should walk away.
