Be aware of new Bitcoin-related scam emails!

ActionFraud is warning the public about unsolicited emails that promote investment opportunities regarding Bitcoin.

They have stated they have received over 750 reports of these phishing emails. This blog post will tell you what to look out for and how you can protect yourself.

What do these emails look like?

These emails are using ‘celebrity endorsements’ in order to persuade their victims to give away their personal and financial information. There are links in these emails which navigate to fraudulent websites that are designed for this purpose.

To see examples of what these phishing emails may look like, you can view these on ActionFraud’s Twitter or Facebook

How to protect yourself?

• Make sure that you do not rush into making an investment. You will never be pressured into making a decision by a legitimate organisation.
• Speak with trusted family or friends and seek independent advice before important investment and financial decisions are made.
• Use the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) register. This will allow you to see whether a firm or an individual is registered with the FCA. If they are not, you may not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). This will mean that if anything goes wrong, you may lose your investment and your money as a result.

If you would like more information on investing safely, you can visit the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ‘ScamSmart’ page here

How to report any phishing emails?

If you do receive any emails which you believe to be phishing emails, you can report them to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service. This can be done by forwarding the suspicious email to [email protected].

For more information on these new scam emails, and to be kept updated on future fraud and cybercrime activities, please visit the ActionFraud website.