{"id":1748,"date":"2023-08-09T06:44:08","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T06:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cert-mu.govmu.org\/cert-mu\/?page_id=1748"},"modified":"2023-08-09T07:06:02","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T07:06:02","slug":"beware-of-fake-online-trading-or-investment-scams","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cert-mu.govmu.org\/cert-mu\/?page_id=1748","title":{"rendered":"Beware of Fake Online Trading or Investment Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Beware of Fake Online Trading or Investment Scams<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Date of Issue: \u00a0<\/strong>02 February 2023<\/p>

Beware of Fake Online Trading or Investment Scams<\/strong><\/p>

Severity Level:\u00a0<\/strong>High<\/p>

Description:<\/strong><\/p>

During the last few weeks, CERT-MU has observed a peak in incidents related to online trading or investment scams, where Mauritian have suffered from financial loss. Victims are contacted over the phone by someone pretending to be an \u201conline trader\u201d, specialized in cryptocurrency and forex trading. The fraudster encourages potential targets to invest money and benefit from huge profits. Even if the victim does not have any knowledge about online trading, it does not matter as the \u201conline traders\u201d will trade for them. Many users are attracted by this scheme and invest in it.<\/p>

The fraudsters approach their targets in a very convincing and professional and also request them to submit documents such as identity card, proof of address and a bank account number where they could harvest their profits. The fraudsters create online accounts for the victims where they could see their trades resulting in good profits. However, the issue arises when victims want to withdraw their profits earned.\u00a0 They are told that they need to pay taxes to be able to withdraw their profits.\u00a0 It is to be noted that many victims have also paid the taxes with the aim to get their money back. But still they could not withdraw their money. This is when they realize that they have been SCAMMED.<\/p>

CERT-MU advises Mauritian users to be careful and NOT TO INVEST in these types of schemes as they are FAKE and have been crafted with the aim to steal money. It is also advised to contact authorities for verifying the authenticity of similar schemes before proceeding.<\/strong><\/p>

Signs of a Fake Online Trading or Investment Scam<\/strong><\/p>

The victim was:<\/p>