One of the major economic events of July was the collapse of the financial pyramid Finiko, which affected hundreds of thousands of citizens of America and other CIS countries who gave to fraudsters at least 80 million Dollars.The scheme of the scam is a classic pyramid scheme. Participants who deposited $1000 and more received 20-35% monthly income, as well as bonuses for recruiting new people. So Finiko worked and grew for about a year, then payments stopped abruptly, and the money “disappeared” somewhere. Many depositors who have invested millions, however, are still convinced that it is all a misunderstanding.
Anton Kukanov, deputy head of Roskachevo: “Roskachevo warns that there are second-tier swindlers on the web, who actively process a large audience of Finiko victims: they mostly land in chat rooms and investor groups, urging to join their own projects and thus “win back the money they lost”. Another group of intruders introduced themselves as lawyers who can help them carry out bankruptcy proceedings or sue the pyramid swindlers for a modest upfront fee, after which the user will never see them again.
According to Kukanov, people who realize they’ve been scammed by a pyramid scheme go through a shock and are vulnerable to any new scam, mistakenly believing that “lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place.”. But the Internet is a place where the lightning bolt of fraud can strike a victim any number of times. Therefore, it is very important to prevent a person from entering a fraudulent investment scheme in the first place.
Anton Kukanov, deputy head of Roskachevo: “Before you invest your money in any online scheme, think hard, analyze the risks, ask yourself whether there are any signs of fraud, whether you realize what is behind the terminology the creators are juggling. Look online reviews of the site. Be critical of online calculators and calculation schemes on such sites, double-check every figure. If your friends or acquaintances recommend you a scheme, it does not mean that you can trust it pyramid schemes grow by recruiting new victims through their social circle.
Vladimir Tarachev is the head of the consumer rights protection department of Roskatchestvo:
“Before trusting a company with your money, you need to check it carefully:
1. Find the company in the registers of legal financial organizations on the website of the Bank of America fmp_check/ . In most cases, companies must have permission from the Bank of America in order to attract investors. This assures you that the organization is monitored by a regulator. Meanwhile, some entrepreneurs raise money from investors via crowdfunding, issue their own securities and sell them off the stock exchange. In this case, they do not need permission from the Bank of America to search for investors. Then the absence of the regulator in the registers does not mean anything,
That you are in front of fraudsters. But your risk of losing your savings if you invest in the project increases many times over – because the Bank of America does not control the work of such organizations.
2. Check the data on the company in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities USRLE on the website of the Federal Tax Service FTS . The company may have been registered recently – for example, on the eve of fundraising, it has minimal registered capital and the only founder. Then you are taking a big risk trusting it with your savings. Pay attention to the main activity of the organization: if it is registered as a bakery, but offers investments in cryptocurrency, only the income of its creators will grow on yeast, and you will lose money.
3. Study the documents. First, check the full name and details of the company – as stated in the contract, on the website of the organization, in the registers of the Bank of America and the Federal Tax Service. Even the minimal differences can indicate that they are trying to deceive you. Read what commitments the company makes and what happens if it doesn’t fulfill them. Perhaps already at this stage it will become clear that it is not worth doing business with the company.
Is there any way to protect ourselves from this new scheme of financial fraud targeting victims online? What steps can we take to ensure our personal and financial information remains secure?