Internet and online scam recovery

Pump and dump scams involve inflating the price of a stock, cryptocurrency, or other asset through false or misleading statements. These inflated stocks are then sold off by fraudsters at the inflated price, leaving investors with worthless assets.

Affinity fraud targets specific social or demographic groups, convincing them to invest in fraudulent schemes like Ponzi or pyramid scams. Scammers often gain trust by connecting over shared backgrounds or interests, making the deception harder to detect.

Pension scams are increasingly common online, targeting individuals looking to manage or consolidate their retirement funds. Fraudsters often use reputable references to gain trust, persuading victims to transfer their pensions to illegitimate accounts.

Binary option scams exploit the risks of high-stakes trading, often targeting investors with false promises of returns. Despite being illegal in the UK, many scammers operate offshore, making it difficult to recover lost funds

Advanced fee fraud tricks victims by requesting upfront payments for loans, prizes, services, or job offers that do not materialise. Scammers typically impersonate legitimate companies and target individuals with financial difficulty.

Boiler room fraud uses aggressive, high-pressure sales tactics to push investors into buying worthless or non-existent shares. Though less common, this scam can leave victims with significant financial losses.

Phishing scams deceive victims by impersonating trusted contacts or legitimate companies via email, text, online or even ads to steal sensitive information. This is one of the most prevalent online scams affecting individuals and businesses.

Romance scams involve scammers building fake relationships with victims online, often using emotional manipulation to convince them to transfer money or gifts to scammers operating under false identities.

Spoofing scams involve impersonating legitimate emails, websites, phone numbers, or text messages to deceive victims into trusting fraudulent sources. This scam tactic is increasingly common, especially in financial fraud cases.

Impersonation scams involve scammers posing as friends of victims, government agencies, banks, or other trusted organisations to demand payments. Scammers may claim a victim’s account has been hacked and encourage them to move funds to a “safe account” where they are then stolen.

Bank fraud encompasses a range of scams, including identity theft, phishing, and authorised payment fraud, aiming to exploit victims’ bank accounts or credit. Such scams can lead to severe financial losses and a complex recovery process.

Investment scams are the most common type of fraud, promising high returns with little to no-risk through fake investment opportunities in stocks, real estate or cryptocurrency.

AI scams are increasingly sophisticated, using deepfake technology to forge interactions to deceive victims and false investment tools that promise unrealistic returns.

Ponzi fraud operates by redistributing investors’ contributions rather than generating legitimate profits. Promising high returns, Ponzi schemes typically collapse, leaving victims with substantial financial losses.

HyperVerse was a $1.89bn crypto Ponzi and pyramid scheme that collapsed in 2022. It sold HVT tokens, promised daily returns of 0.5 to 1 percent, and used gaming, social and “metaverse” branding to attract Voyagers.

Scammers create fake accounts pretending to be businesses, influencers, or even friends, targeting anyone who can be deceived by these fraudulent profiles.