Unemployment has become a reality for many during the Covid-19 pandemic and as people struggle to make ends meet, scammers are also hard at work.
According to the New York Times , the uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic has created more opportunities for robocallers, hackers and other thieves who’ve made ordinary people their targets.
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Marius Reitz, general manager for Africa at cryptocurrency exchange Luno, tells DRUM scammers will offer big profits in exchange for your funds. “They'll even give fake testimonials to make their proposition seem legitimate. We strongly advise against sending anyone money to invest for you. Remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
He lists the most common red flags and warns that if any of these sound familiar, you’re probably being scammed:
- Someone contacts you on social media and offers you big returns in a short time by trading forex, binary options or currencies.
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According to Reitz, these are the steps you should follow to stay safe:
- Be extra careful (even paranoid) and verify the person or organisation you’re dealing with by doing extensive online research and asking them specific questions about their business.
