Be scam smart: a cautionary crypto tale

Last weekend whilst scrolling through the BBC news app, I stumbled across an intriguing podcast named “The missing Crypto Queen”. As a follower of the fintech and cryptocurrency scene, I have a reasonable understanding of Bitcoin, some of its smaller counterparts, and the basics of blockchain technology. Onecoin was completely new to me and so I thought I would subscribe to the podcast.

The 8 episode series runs through the story of one of the largest pyramid scams the world has seen, which took an estimated £100mfrom UK based investors over a 3-year time frame (The Times).

With the ongoing coronavirus situation and the prevalence of financial scams that are bound to follow this podcast provides both a timely and cautionary tale to the risks of purchasing unregulated financial products and the perils of financial speculation. Such ponzi schemes can appear to be legitimate investments to the unwary and the vulnerable.

As part of the financial service industry we know all too well the importance of conducting comprehensive due diligence. Feel free to share this with your clients as it may help to educate those not cognizant of such dangers.

More information on the podcast can be found on BBC sounds (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07nkd84)