04 October 2024

Spot what’s suspicious in an investment

Have you been offered a fantastic investment by someone online? Does it feel like an opportunity that you’d be stupid to miss out on? Are there no downsides, and you need to get in now?

Investing can be a fantastic way to secure your financial future. However, investing always contains risk. Always. If you’ve been offered an investment that promises the world, there’s a risk it may be an investment scam. Scams online, over the phone, via email, even in online games, they’re becoming more frequent and harder to spot. Scammers are spending months talking to people to steal money from them. Everyone is at risk of an investment scam.

Thankfully, even as technology gets more advanced, there are some surefire signs of a scam that you can look out for. If you’re ever considering investing, check it out with someone else first. They can give you the confidence you need that something is legit. They might also stop a scam from happening.

Key ways to spot a scam

Are they promising the world?

Legit ways to invest never promise you the world. They can’t: investing is risky and there’s never a guarantee you’ll make money back. If someone you’ve met online is promising you big profit: that’s a red flag. Ask someone else whether it sounds like they’re promising the world. If they are, you might want to avoid.

Are they pushing you to act urgently?

Scammers are savvy: they know when we’re under pressure it’s hard to think through a decision. That’s why it’s so important to check it out with someone else. They can support you to think about the offer because you can take it slow. If you and your mate see them pushing you to urgently get on board the next Bitcoin rush, dip out.

If you say no, are they letting it go?

Good friends know when to let it go. Does a conversation with someone you’ve met online keep coming back to investing? If you say you aren’t interested, do they let it go? Or do they keep bringing it up? Tell someone else about how they’ve raised the investment opportunity. What do they think? If it seems fishy to someone else, you might want to pump the brakes and say no.

FAQs

Won’t someone judge me if it’s a scam?

Absolutely not. If you tell someone you trust about a potential scam, they will want to help you, not judge you. Anyone can get scammed, especially now that artificial intelligence and other technology makes it really easy to make a scam look legitimate. People want to help you.

I’ve gotten a great investment opportunity: it can’t be a scam, right?

Unfortunately, it might be. Have you been recommended an investment by someone you only know online? Have they promised a fantastic return with very little risk? It’s worth checking it out with someone else before you send money.

What is too good to be true?

Great question. If an investment promises you lots of profit with very little risk, that’s probably too good to be true. If someone is rushing you into making a decision and making you feel like you’ll miss out, that’s a red flag. If someone isn’t giving you a full picture of the risks, it’s probably a scam.

Could it be a scam if the person who offered is someone I’ve known for a long time?

Potentially. Scams aren’t what they used to be: more and more often we’re seeing people offered bad investments from people they’ve met online and built a relationship with. It’s hard to think that someone would betray your trust like that. Or you could be offered an investment scam by a friend who is also being scammed. If you’re worried you’re in that situation, checking it out with someone else.

I’ve already sent some money, but now I’m not sure it’s legit. What do I do?

Anyone can be scammed, so if it is a scam know that you are not alone. Contact your bank or payment provider to see if you can reverse the transaction. Stop talking to the person who got you into the investment. It’s okay to be impolite. Lastly, reach out to someone you know who can support you. Victim Support is also here to help you through this difficult time.

Have you seen a scam? Please report it so nobody else needs to suffer.

Report a scam