Nowadays, financial fraud has become almost a part of everyday life. Although we know this, it doesn’t mean that we will remain immune to such scams. Namely, today, fraudsters are more and more knowledgeable and wiser – and it happens that despite caution, we remain financially damaged. The most common financial frauds occur in the field of investments. So is there anything we can do when that happens? How can we get our money back if we were the victims of an investment scam?
Investment Scams And Our Role In Them
Financial and investment frauds are nothing new to any of us. All you need to do is watch the news, read the newspaper, or surf the internet – and you will hear or read some of the many experiences of people who have already been victims of such scams. Most people think that this cannot happen to them – because they think they are already cautious enough and familiar with most of the patterns of such scams. However, it is far from the truth. Very often we willingly impose ourselves as a potential target or victim of such scams. Why? The answer lies primarily in human nature – and the fact that we always want more and faster than it’s possible in reality. For such scams, people often say they were offers that they simply couldn’t turn down. They are characterized by promises of lucrative businesses, quick earnings, guaranteed returns, and large payouts. However, the rule is that in practice everything that looks too good – usually is not so.
The Most Common Types Of Investment Scams
We live in a time when investment crime and frauds of all kinds are flourishing. Digitization, the use of the Internet, and social networks have further contributed to this. In this way, the space for manipulation is wide open – and various fraudsters become more inventive and ingenious in devising ways to get easy money. Some of the most common types of investment scams include cryptocurrency scams, high-return business investments, romance baiting, Ponzi schemes – but also various investment seminars where lecturers entice you to invest large sums in some of the high-risk deals.
You Become A Victim Of An Investment Fraud: Can You Fix the Situation After the Damage Is Done?
Of course, when you find out that you have been scammed, you will first face shock and disbelief. However, this situation should not keep you too long because you need to react to the situation on time. What can we do then and are there any ways to recover the lost money? Fortunately, you are not alone in this problem. You can turn to the authorities, various organizations that help victims of fraud – but also seek legal and emotional support. Here is what you can do.
● Report an investment scam
Reporting a scam related to your investment is the first thing you will do. Contacting the authorities should be your primary instance. Reporting to the police and the prosecutor’s office is the first step you need to take. Of course, for these things, you will need documents proving that you are a victim of fraud – and you will also need legal assistance because such fraud can sometimes be difficult to prove. There are also organizations such as FINRA, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Center for Complaints about Internet Crime, etc. Of course, each of these institutions deals with certain types of fraud – so you need to know who to contact and report your case.
● Hire a good lawyer
Without any doubt, you will not be able to go through this process by yourself – but you need a good lawyer. According to mdf-law.com, it is very important that when choosing your legal representative – you keep in mind the fact that your lawyer already has experience with such cases. So, reputation and experience are crucial to increase your chances of recouping a lost investment that you lost due to fraud. Lawyers versed in this area will know exactly what you need from the documentation, in what order to file a lawsuit – or in cases where it is possible, they can reach an out-of-court settlement and thus return the money invested without further large payment of litigation which is very expensive and can sometimes take a very long time.
● Contact your bank
It is important to make this move as soon as possible. Namely, depending on how you paid your money for the investment at the time you were deceived – you can try to react by contacting your bank. Then you will be required to submit certain requests which can help you try to get back at least part of your money. If you paid with a credit card, you have a somewhat higher level of security – because you have liability protection, and the bank may be able to help you repay part of the money or even the entire amount. With debit cards, the situation is somewhat different, but still, some banks operate within the refund scheme. However, there is no guarantee for that. In any case, you should report to your bank that it is investment fraud – and hope that the bank may be able to recover your funds or at least part of them.
● Gather all available evidence
When you have an investment scam, you must gather all the relevant evidence as soon as possible. This includes the name and surname of the perpetrator of the fraud, the address if you have it, the e-mail address as well as evidence of your payments to the account of the person who scammed you. Also, submit a police record as proof that you have reported the crime to the authorities, contacts with banks, correspondence by phone, etc.
Do Not Be Hard On Yourself – It Happens To People Everywhere
It is not easy when you realize that you have become a victim of investment fraud. It destroys us deeply not only financially but also emotionally. Facing our lack of experience and being naive, feeling guilty about making a bad choice, or being judged by family and friends – are just some of the many emotional aspects that a victim of investment fraud faces. Of course, there is another important aspect and that is finances. It is not uncommon for individuals to invest all their savings or even sell their property to invest in a business that later turned out to be a scam. However, do not be too hard on yourself, but try to get back to your common sense – and react as quickly as possible so that the fraudster does not escape facing justice.
