The National Police has warned of an increase in scams related to fake cryptocurrencies and fake investments in Palma. In a press release, the National Police reported that its Economic Crime and Technology Crime Group has warned that, in recent weeks, there has been a growing increase in reports related to scams involving fake investments and non-existent cryptocurrencies.
Numerous people are falling victim to fraudulent platforms that promise extraordinary and rapid returns, causing financial losses that, in many cases, amount to the total savings of those affected, it explained. Some of the victims even take out loans to invest, trusting in supposed advisors who appear to be professional.
According to the police, these criminal organisations operate with a high level of sophistication. They use elaborate websites, fake social media profiles and manipulated investment panels to simulate constant profits. In addition, they often pressure users to increase their investment, make it difficult to withdraw money and use false identities or international numbers to avoid being traced.
To prevent people from falling for these scams, the National Police has offered a series of recommendations, among which it has highlighted the importance of being wary of guaranteed or excessively high returns, as ‘no safe investment offers quick profits or high fixed percentages’.
In addition, it has urged the public to always check whether the platform is officially registered.
It has reminded the public that, before investing, the authorities recommend verifying the reliability of the entity with the following official bodies: the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV), which allows you to check whether the entity is authorised and consult the list of warnings and ‘financial beach bars’; the Bank of Spain, to check entities related to payment services or banking activity; the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which collects alerts from all European regulators; and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom, as it is one of the strictest registers and is useful as a reference for reliability.
‘If a platform does not appear in the official registers or is expressly included in the list of warnings, you should not invest or provide personal data,’ it stressed. Other recommendations provided by the National Police include avoiding investing under pressure or urgency, as fraudsters use tactics to rush victims into making decisions without thinking, and not providing personal or banking details without verifying the legitimacy of the company, as, it finally reminded us, this information can be used for impersonation or to reinforce the deception.