Australian police have arrested five people for their alleged involvement in a cryptocurrency cold calling scam that fleeced investors to the tune of $2.7 million.
The three men and two women were part of an alleged criminal syndicate which operated a number of businesses selling cryptocurrency investments on the Gold Coast between 2017 and May 2019.
The scammers cold-called individuals offering the opportunity to invest in Exmount Holdings Group, a legitimate appearing company with a website, call centre, and sales staff .
Victims were offered a trial investment, with the promise of generous returns once they had invested more funds. They were provided unique log-in details for the website where they could watch their initial investment grow over the trial period.
“When victims attempted to withdraw their capital, they could not. Their money had gone and any attempt they made to contact one of the companies or their staff was unsuccessful,” Detective Superintendent Terry Lawrence of the State Crime Command’s Financial and Cyber Crime Group said.
Over 100 people are alleged to have fallen for the scam, investing a total of $2.7 million in the bogus operation.