Nick Van Tassel said he was caught up in a cryptocurrency investment scheme that lasted nearly a year.
“That’s very stupid,” he said. “it’s difficult
Mr. Van Tassel was a customer of TD Ameritrade, which was acquired by Charles Schwab.
That’s when Van Tassel received messages on the messaging platform WhatsApp from two people claiming to be employees of Charles Schwab.
“I said it made sense because they contacted me within a week of acquiring TD Ameritrade,” he said.
Fraudsters claiming to be analysts sold Van Tassel an investment in Bitcoin.
They used the names of actual Charles Schwab employees, had them download apps on Google Play, and even sent them investment agreements using the Charles Schwab logo.
Van Tassel said as the amount invested grew, the scammers asked for more money in fees and commissions.
“I took out a home equity line of credit against the house and paid for it,” he said.
However, Mr. Van Tassel did not see any of these alleged benefits. Losses from October to July last year totaled about $350,000, he said.
Thousands of people report investment fraud
Since 2020, the Better Business Bureau says it has received more than 4,000 reports of investment fraud from consumers. The median reported loss in 2021 was $1,000. This year, that amount has jumped to nearly $6,000.
BBB national spokeswoman Melanie McGovern said 80% of people who report investment fraud to the BBB have lost money, “so it’s very important to know who you’re investing with.” said.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing more than $4.6 billion to investment fraud in 2023, more than any other category.
Dan Barnett, senior portfolio manager at Johnson Investment Counsel, said even more people are afraid to admit they lost money to fraud.
“It’s hard to really say how many people are being scammed because there’s an element of embarrassment,” he says.
Investment fraud red flags (bold subheadings)
Barnett said scammers can pressure you to invest right away or promise annual returns of 20% or more.
He said, “Such profits are negligible and it is unrealistic for someone to promise such a rate of return.”
“Investing is highly regulated. It requires a ton of licensing and a ton of education for advisors. There are so many different disclosures, there’s a ton of paperwork,” McGovern said. “Remember: If it’s too easy and the money is too good, it’s probably a scam.”
In Van Tassel’s case, Charles Schwab acknowledged that its employees did not use the private messaging app for business purposes. The company acknowledged that it had identified instances where employees’ names were used as part of a “deceptive” investment scheme.
Charles Schwab reports these scams on social media and messaging apps, according to an email to Scripps News. “We rely on platform owners to take appropriate action, which may take several months or, unfortunately, may not happen at all,” the company said in an emailed response. Fraudsters are free to continue using these platforms.”
After reporting the scam to various organizations and agencies, Van Tassel said he wanted to warn others.
“I should have listened to my inner intuition. When I first received the WhatsApp message, I wished I had deleted it immediately,” he said.
Therefore, to avoid wasting your money, be suspicious if the offer seems too good to be true.
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