How scam networks use fake celebrity ads to lure online investors

Investor beware: some online platforms claiming to offer quick profits are in reality out to swindle clients. An investigation by Swiss public television, SRF, followed the trail of a network of scammers to Cyprus. Enter “InvesaCapital” into the search bar on the online review platform Trustpilot and a host of negative reviews will pop up. Users from Japan, India, Chile, Columbia and Switzerland all complain about being scammed. One such unhappy customer is Swiss motorbike mechanic Stefan Boss. “When you visit the platform, it all looks so real,” Boss tells SRF Investigativ. He paid CHF21,000 ($23,235) into InvesaCapital – and never saw his money again. It was only later that he realised he had fallen for a scam. SRF Investigativ’s research has now uncovered an entire network of similar platforms – all with links to Cyprus – which put pressure on customers to invest increasingly larger sums. The trap begins with fake celebrity ads. In the case of motorbike mechanic Boss, he came ...