A trend analysis report published recently indicates that between January and June 2023, banks and other authorities filed a total of 165 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR) with the FIA, of which 116 involved fraudulent cryptocurrency dealings.
In a trends report issued by FIA covering the period from January to June 2023, the authority noted that scammers continue to lure larger numbers of Batswana into investing in dodgy digital trading platforms, purporting to be brokers who can invest on behalf of people.
“Unsuspecting individuals were lured into sending money to criminals for supposedly investing in crypto-currencies or forex trading. The fraudsters present as brokers or forex trading educators who purport to invest and teach people how to trade online,” the authority noted in its report. “In most cases, the fraudsters do not have operating licences nor training qualifications to offer the training.”
According to the FIA, the fraudsters present as brokers or forex trading educators who purport to invest and teach people how to trade online.
The authority gave the illustration of a victim who gives a trader P68,000 as an investment to trade in forex but later realises that she is being deceived as she has not benefited anything from the investment.
“Further, she realised that her Facebook account was hacked. The hacker was suspected of having been working with Trader X and contacting numerous culprits from Victim A’s Facebook friends, claiming that the victim had financial problems and needed assistance. “The culprits were requested to credit the money into Trader X’s account. “Most of the funds were used for personal expenses or transferred into other bank accounts, with minimal going towards trading or investment. “Oftentimes the fraudsters display their lavish lifestyles on social media. “This is done to entice and lure people into 'investing',” the authority noted.
With the dawn of the digital age, assets that used to be conventionally traded physically have evolved into digital asset classes, meaning that brokers can facilitate the exchange of these assets for cash anywhere in the world. This happens mainly through digital platforms. However, this has also opened a can of worms where people are duped of their money after being promised large returns by some of these self-proclaimed brokers.
The Finance ministry also recently released a statement warning consumers about increasing fraudulent financial activities that mainly happen online.
The FIA said it has also observed a trend where members of the public are lured, mainly through social media platforms and phone calls from anonymous persons, to be part of certain crowdfunding ventures presented as being for a good cause, or through promises of loans and being recruited to transfer money to foreign jurisdictions for a commission.
