IFW Global has received complaints from concerned investors about fake crypto exchanges and traders called BitGo, and National Trade Centre. IFW Global has determined that the named fake cryptocurrency exchanges are related to an ongoing criminal syndicate based in Kiev, Ukraine.

How It Works?

Cryptocurrency frauds often start with an advertisement, using a well-known celebrity, in an app or on social media. When clicked, a fake news article with a glowing celebrity endorsement will encourage people to enquire further or register their details for a trial.

Small investments (e.g. $250 to $1000) are requested which makes rapid and large profits to encourage more deposits. Unknown to the client, the money is not invested as alleged but is stolen. All of the data and money in the “account” is manipulated by the fraudsters on their fake platform to intentionally mislead their victim to make a substantial deposit.

It is common for the scams to launder funds through on-shore accounts and grant some small withdrawal requests to gain the confidence of their victims and make the platform appear legitimate. However, any large withdrawal requests are ignored, or are subject to additional payments under the guise of “fees” (e.g. exit or escow) or “taxes”. These pretexts are an attempt to extract more money from their victim. Sometimes the scammers will manipulate the platform to show that the client has lost their money in a recent trade. In every case, the client is never able to access their money.

Red flags

• These fraudulent firms do not purport to operate under a financial services regulator and may be offering services unlawfully.
• Lack of identity information about the owners, operators, staff etc. of the investment firm or an unwillingness to show their identity on a video meeting.
• All domain registration details are obscured by a privacy service. The more recent scam firms use a privacy service based in Reykjavik, Iceland which is common for newer crypto frauds.
• You may have been directed to make credit card or bank transfers to entities and/or accounts that are not in the name of the company and appear unrelated, or only vaguely related, to the company name. These entities and accounts may also be in countries that are not where the firm purports to operate from.

Next Steps

If you are a victim of this fraud:

• Immediately report your fraud to the Police or via your national fraud reporting portal (for example: Australia – www.cyber.gov.au, USA – www.ic3.gov, UK – www.actionfraud.police.uk, Canada – www.antifraudcentre.ca)
• Do not send the fraudsters any more money. Any request for payment of a “tax” or “fee” is their last ditch attempt to get more money from you.
• Do not let the fraudsters gain remote access to your computer. Fraudsters will often offer to “assist” you by asking you to install AnyDesk or TeamViewer to remotely control your computer mouse and keyboard.
• Submit an Investment Fraud enquiry to IFW Global to discuss your fraud and find out what can be done to investigate and recover your stolen money.

IFW Global Investigations is a private intelligence and investigations firm that represents investors who believe they have been scammed or duped into fraudulent investment schemes. We can action investigations and cryptocurrency scam recovery. We are strictly vetted by the NSW Police Force in Australia and the State of Florida in the USA, and you can view and verify our investigator licences at https://www.ifwglobal.com/about/credentials