Police warn against new scam

Police on Monday urged people to be wary of a new scam on WhatsApp promising huge profits from investments.

The police electronic fraud department said it had received a large number of complaints regarding messages from abroad sent to WhatsApp accounts calling on users to participate in promising investments.

“The perpetrators promise high turnover, which cannot happen. The public must trust companies licensed by the Cyprus Securities to avoid the risk of fraud,” Andreas Anastasiades of the department said.

He added that some people fell for the scam.

“Thankfully it was not much money. When someone starts investing, they ask for more money and that is when people suspect fraud,” he explained.

Anastasiades said it was not easy to locate the fraudsters and recover the money as the money is not sent through bank transfers but by using other methods.

People who receive these messages are requested to report them and then delete them.