In a FOX23 Investigation, a scam is happening right now that could hurt you or your loved ones. It has to do with tricking people into investing their money.
Tulsa’s Investigative Reporter Janna Clark found out what you need to know about this one.
This scam targets seniors. Scammers are using a romantic relationship to trick people into investigating their money into something that’s not real. It’s not a real relationship nor a real investment.
Zulfikar Ramzan works for Aura, a consumer cybersecurity company. He told FOX23 that seniors need to be extra aware right now.
“The numbers for elders being targeted online have gone up dramatically,” he said.
Ramzan said in the last year we’ve seen an 11% increase in the number of crimes targeting elders and $3.4 billion in losses. The average lost per person was $34,000.
“They get roped into it and over time, don't even realize what's going on until it's far too late,” he said.
Ramzan said it’s one of the biggest scams going on right now. What you think is a romantic relationship turns into a financial nightmare.
FOX23 asked him for a scenario in which this could happen.
“Imagine like a debonair person, you know, hanging out as a scammer on one of these romance sites, they'll engage with the victim,” Ramzan said. “Over time, they'll drop hints to the victim, that they're very, very wealthy, they'll talk about flying on their private jet, etc., etc. The victim gets intrigued and says, ‘How did you make your money,’ and they'll say, ‘Hey, you know what I invested in this cryptocurrency, I've made a ton of money, I can help you get set up.’”
He said at that point in the scenario the scammer will ask the victim to give them a small amount of money and to get them squared away.
“That small amount of money becomes bigger and bigger,” Razman said. “And over time it snowballs into potentially the entire life savings of the person has been duped.”
FOX23 asked Ramzan what kind of investments these scammers typically offer.
“Nowadays, it's really predominantly cryptocurrency based,” he said. “So, they'll talk about a new cryptocurrency, or they'll talk about a new cryptocurrency exchange that will help the person make money. And these are very elaborate scams. It's not like they're just saying, ‘Give me you money,’ and they go away with it. They'll take the money, then they'll produce fake statements showing investment returns.”
“So at this point, the victim thinks this must be legitimate,” Ramzan said. “I'm getting these statements, I'm able to cash out. This person who I've been talking to who I’ve built this really wonderful relationship with knows what they're doing. They're clearly wealthy, etc.”
He agreed with FOX23 that this scam is very sad.
“Yeah, it is,” Ramzan said. “It is awful. I mean, there are people who are looking for a partner in life or to engage in something, they think the other person is interested in many cases. These scammers are very charismatic. You think that you found a love of your life, and unfortunately, that's not the case.”
FOX23 asked Ramzan how people can protect themselves from scams like this.
“You have to do your homework on anybody you talk to,” he said. “Just the fundamental assumption here is that just because they’re somewhere on the internet does not mean that they are who they say they are. More often than not, they're not who they say they are.”
He also discussed the best way to check if a person online is who they say they are.
“Doing a lot more background research on that person,” Razman said. “If they refuse to appear on video or they're only engaging with you on text message and phone call, that's usually a bad sign. A lot of scammers will never engage on video, and they'll make up excuses, “Hey, my camera's broken.’”
Razman said it’s important to know that getting asked about investments is usually a bad sign.
“And then recognizing that as soon as you get asked about investments, it's almost always a bad sign if it's somebody you haven't engaged with, or met in person by this point,” he said.
Ramzan said many of these scammers are pros. They do this all day every day, like a job. They’re good at tricking people.
“These scammers are extremely good at what they do,” he said. “They know just what to say, they're charming, they know how to pull your heartstrings. And many of these victims really believe they're in a relationship with a scammer. And that relationship can last sometimes years before they realize something is amiss.
Ramzan said if you fall victim to an investment scam, there’s a very small window of opportunity to get your money back. He said you've got to realize it within the first 24 to 48 hours, and even that might be too late.
If you fall for an investment scam, call your bank and try to get the transaction reversed. You may only have a short amount of time. The sooner you call, the better. You can also invest in identify theft monitoring.
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