Investment Scams

In an investment scam, you're lured into putting money into shares, funds, cryptocurrency or something else that's supposed to give high returns. It often starts with an ad where a celebrity recommends an investment, a call from an "adviser" or a group on social media where everyone seems to be making money. The platform looks real and your money seems to grow. But when you want to withdraw it, you can't, or you first have to pay a fee. By then the money is already gone.

Warning signs

• You're promised high returns with little or no risk.

• A celebrity recommends the investment in an ad or a post.

• Someone calls or messages you about an investment you didn't ask about.

• You're pushed to decide quickly or to put in more money.

• Someone wants you to install a program so they can see your screen.

• You have to pay fees or tax to get your profits out.

Many of the firms behind them have no licence, and Finansinspektionen, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, warns about hundreds of them on its warning list. Some use the name of a real firm.