Modern Version

In the past, most stock fund scams involved scammers randomly calling victims; now these scams have taken on a different form, with most of them appearing on social media or dating websites.

Social Media

Most scammers approach victims through dating websites and dating apps. They analyze the victims and adjust their scam strategies accordingly (lover, friend, business opportunity).

Some scammers choose to advertise on forums and social media. They claim to be stock brokers, portfolio managers, or work for hedge funds, and have access to insider information.

Dating Application

Scammers infiltrate various dating websites, social media, and messaging applications. They often pretend to be young, attractive males or females and claim to be interested in meeting like-minded successful individuals. Similar to most online relationship scams, their main objectives are as follows:

(a) Identify wealthy and influential potential victims;

(b) Establish trust;

(c) Mislead, distract, and influence the victims when necessary.

Method

Scammers will trick victims into transferring funds to a designated bank account or collect cash at their doorstep. Early scammers often asked victims to transfer small amounts of money at a time to show their trustworthiness. When victims are falsely accused of making profits, the other party will ask them to continue investing in order to earn more money. Whenever a victim requests to withdraw profits from a fake account, the scammer will make up various excuses and ask the victim to invest more funds in order to "unlock" the account.

Once the scammer finds out that the scam has been exposed, he will immediately terminate the call; the victim will eventually realize that they have been deceived, but unfortunately, the stocks and funds they hold have long been turned into worthless waste paper.