Keeping your money safe online

Financial and investment scams are a real problem, and unfortunately affect a large amount of people every day. There are many different types of scams, including investment scams, ransomware, romance scams, identity theft, and more.

You can read about some of the real-life stories from people affected by scams on Australia's ScamWatch website, or contact CoinJar Support if you believe you have been involved in a scam.

Before you send money to another individual, an investment opportunity, or any local or overseas organisation, it’s important that you understand how your money will be managed by the recipient and exactly who is handling the funds.

Do your own research

You can do your own independent research by:

• searching for the name of the recipient on the web
• if available, reviewing the recipient's terms of service/privacy policy
• checking to see if the recipient is registered, or holds an appropriate regulatory licence in the region they operate from
• reading other people's reviews of the recipient's services
• asking a friend or family member to help review the situation and offer a fresh look at the recipient
• asking for assistance from the team at your bank or financial institution

Has a stranger contacted you?

If someone contacts you asking you to become involved in cryptocurrency, ask yourself the following:

• Do I know who this person is?
• Why have they contacted me?
• Have they advised they can make large or high yield returns on my investment?
• Is the service they are referring me to regulated in the country I live in?
• Are they asking for remote access to my device or computer?
• Are they asking me to invest my money, or asking me to transfer money on their behalf?
• Is what they are saying true?

When a stranger contacts you, you should never provide:

• • remote access to your computer
  • information that should be kept private, such as email addresses and/or passwords such as those that grant access to your email inbox or your bank account
  • information on your financial status or any personally identifiable information (such as identity documents)

Warning signs

There are some immediate warning signs that you might be involved in a financial scam, including but not limited to where a stranger:

• contacts you via a social media or messaging platform
• begins a conversation that quickly steers towards your financial status and getting started with investing
• claims that you need to provide them with a fee in order to release an amount of money they allege you own
• alleges you have a debt to pay and must pay it with a sense of urgency
• claims that they can make you a profit by making trades on your behalf but the trading platform only supports cryptocurrency
• requests remote access to your devices
• requests access to your identity documents
• requests access usernames/passwords for banking services

More resources

You can also visit:

• Financial Conduct Authority’s ScamSmart and the FCA Warning List to check for existing scams, or to report a new scam.
• ActionFraud’s warning on cryptocurrency investment scams
• The National Cyber Security Centre, providing up-to-date advice on the latest reported cyber security issues, as well as general advice on staying safe online, options for reporting suspicious emails
• The Money Advice Service, offering guides on protecting yourself from banking and credit scams, as well as how to spot investment scams.

Reporting a scam

ActionFraud is the National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre. Your report will be passed to law enforcement agencies for assessment and intelligence purposes.

Although not all reports will be investigated by law enforcement agencies, all reports are important as they provide information on the latest cyber-crime activity and trends. You may be contacted by police if additional information is required.

Click here to make a report

If you have any queries, concerns or questions, don't hesitate to submit a new Support request or get in touch with our Support Team on support@coinjar.com.