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Investment Fraud

IFW has extensive investment and forex fraud investigation experience combatting serious and organised fraud in multiple jurisdictions around the world. IFW tracks down the offenders behind complex cyber-enabled frauds, uncovers the money trail and brings to light strategic cyber threat intelligence about internet fraudsters’ financial operations, physical locations and identity details.

Who Investigates Investment Fraud?

IFW conducts serious fraud investigations by utilising extensive intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, advanced cybercrime investigation methods and strategic profiling of suspects for civil and criminal action.

In addition, IFW works with internal legal experts who specialise in cross border fraud and global asset recovery services in foreign jurisdictions. Using this expertise, IFW can freeze bank accounts and assets associated with offenders involved in serious fraud. In recent years, IFW has received law enforcement awards, plaques of recognition and commendations for uncovering major cyber fraud networks and syndicates whilst disrupting large scale fraud gangs working in Asia, Europe and Central America.

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What Is Securities Fraud?

Securities frauds are also referred to as stock or investment frauds and are one of the many illegal operations targetted by IFW Global’s international investigative services. These types of scams involve deceptive practices relating to commodities and stocks, with the intention of fraudulently profiting off investors.

IFW has recovered millions of dollars for victims of fraud and continually manages complex class action lawsuits for large investor groups targeted by international internet fraudsters.

What Is Cryptocurrency Fraud?

Cryptocurrency fraud can take a number of forms. This can include digital heists where hackers steal cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Etherium from individuals and large cryptocurrency exchanges. An example of this type of attack is the large scale theft of more than $32million from Japan’s Bitpoint exchange. This follows on from the massive $500million hacking operation that targeted another exchange, Coincheck.

Individuals can also be victim’s of crypto-fraud through investment in scam currencies. To learn more about cryptocurrency fraud and how IFW Global is helping to combat these cyber-attacks, see our Cryptocurrency Scams page.

What Is Binary Options Fraud?

Binary trading scams are used to defraud investors of millions of dollars every year. They promise quick returns through the prediction of asset, commodity or index price over a short time period. While there are many licensed firms that trade in them as a legitimate financial services, investment in binary options is high-risk with returns that are almost impossible to predict, even for professionals. This system of investment is often co-opted by scammers.

What Is a Forex Online Fraud?

Traders can be lured into investing large sums of money with the promise of high returns in foreign exchange fraud operations. This type of fraud rose to prominence in 2008 when currency trading first began to emerge as a common form of investment fraud. Because one trader’s gain is another trader’s loss, the foreign exchange market runs as a zero-loss game in the best-case scenario. Once you factor in brokerage and other transaction fees the overall investment landscape becomes a negative-loss proposition. While forex trading is not always fraudulent by definition, there are large numbers of scams associated with the industry, making it a hotbed of potential scams.

Learn more about forex scams.

What Is a Sports Betting Fraud?

Sports betting fraud aka sports investment scams are presented as legitimate investment opportunities under a range of guises. These can include the promotion of impressive-sounding computer prediction software that supposedly uses advanced data algorithms to predict sporting results based on the analysis of previous events. Sports bet victims can also be lured in by betting syndicates or punters clubs which require the investor to set up a sports betting account and make regular deposits. In these cases, the scammers promise to make winning bets on behalf of the victim but in reality drain the accounts of money and launder these funds for their own profit.

Dating & Romance Scams

With a surge in dating apps and social media sites, online romance scams are on the rise now more than ever. These channels allow scammers to hide behind the screen, posing as prospective partners to swindle users looking for love.

Romance fraud can be financially crippling, with Scamwatch reporting a record-breaking $37 million lost by Australians to dating scams in 2021. Moreover, the FBI reports that Americans lost a record high of $547 million to online dating scams in the same year. Such crimes also inflict emotional scars, often damaging the victim’s relationships with friends and family members.

 

 

Company Director & Embezzlement

Also known as misappropriation of funds, director fraud occurs when an individual in this powerful position uses investors’ money for personal benefit. Regardless of whether you are an employee, partner or other stakeholder, discovering that a director has been stealing or embezzling from their company and its investors can be extremely distressing.

But you must not turn a blind eye. If you take action against director fraud quickly and effectively, it may be possible to recover investors’ losses. Book a consultation with IFW to begin an expert investigation and unearth actionable evidence that can help you to prove and prosecute the offender.

Fake Charities

Fake charities are scams designed to take advantage of their victims’ generosity and compassion, swindling unsuspecting donors for their own personal gain. Either posing as genuine charities or promoting their own fake foundations, these fraudsters often request donations after natural disasters or major emergencies. As well as leaving you out of pocket, these door-to-door and online scams also channel critical proceeds away from the causes they claim to support.

 

Superannuation Scam

As one of life’s most valuable investments, superannuation funds are frequently targeted by unscrupulous fraudsters. In addition to the large amounts of money held, advancements in technology have enabled these scammers to steal not only hard-earned savings but victims’ identities, too.

The consequences of such superannuation scams are often devastating. If you suspect that you have been targeted by a super fund scam, please take immediate action by contacting our renowned investigators. We will uncover actionable evidence to help you prosecute the culprit behind the crime and recover your retirement savings.

 

Phishing Attacks

Phishing occurs when scammers try to trick targets into sharing personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers or bank account details. Armed with more than 30 years of experience in evidence gathering, our licenced phishing investigation experts tackle large-scale attacks to track down culprits and shut down scams.

If you have fallen victim to a phishing scam, the actionable intelligence we uncover can be utilised to help recover your money and take legal action against the criminal who stole it.

 

IFW Global is actively investigating has received complaints about fraudulent investment companies.

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Understand the process and make an informed decision about engaging IFW Global services. Complete our enquiry form and get started with your investigation.

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