New Zealand police have warned the public about online scams after an investor lost $320,000 NZD ($213,000 USD) to crypto fraudsters, the Canterbury police confirmed Wednesday, September 26.
The unnamed investor, who made multiple investments in an online cryptocurrency scheme which turned out to be fraudulent, was attracted by its “extremely good returns,” a police report from the town of Canterbury explains.
According to the report, which does not mention the kind of operation involved, those returns in the “investments in cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin [...] soon began to decline.” When investments stopped due to the lack of returns, this prompted the scammer to contact the investor personally, leading the investor to put in more funds through the website.
“Members of the public should seek advice before making any online investments they are unsure of,” Senior Sergeant Paul Reeves commented, adding:
“Scammers are extremely persistent and can seem very credible, as they are highly versed in their trade.”
The police report ends with a link to more information about cryptocurrency security.
Regulators worldwide continue to grapple with concerted efforts by malicious parties to manipulate entry-level investors in the still-nascent cryptocurrency industry. Cointelegraph recently reported on a spate of identity thefts in the UK by fraudulent companies masquerading as licensed cryptocurrency-related entities.
Last week, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also reached out to Jackson Palmer, the founder of Dogecoin (DOGE), for help in stopping cryptocurrency scammers on Twitter.