Many in retirement are travelling comfortably, with three key factors contributing to their happiness – good physical and mental health and enough money to enjoy life.
Perhaps the assumption that markets are still anchored by predictable economic policies needs to be challenged. For the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, political volatility – once background noise – is potentially reshaping investment risk at a structural level.
Investment scams increase amid the pandemic
Fraudulent activity is on the rise and Australian cryptocurrency exchange Cointree is all over it, launching a free scam awareness course to help investors protect their assets.
CEO Shane Stevenson says, “COVID-19 has seen an upswing in scam activity in the cryptocurrency markets with ASIC reporting a sharp increase in reports from consumers about losing money in crypto-asset scams. Australians have reported a record $211 million in losses to scams so far in 2021, up 89 per cent on the previous corresponding period. In response, many financial institutions are doubling down on security measures to combat this crisis, but no amount of security employed by these institutions can make up for inadequate personal security.”
Cointree says it has been vigilant in protecting personal information and assets of its members by putting in place tested security measures and even conducting criminal background checks on new staff members. The problem is that scammers rarely go up against security systems, as they’re incredibly difficult to beat. Their goal is to get victims to unknowingly give them access to their personal information so that they bypass all security measures.
Members often fall victim to scammers offering fraudulent investment opportunities. Most financial organisations and regulators, such as ASIC, strongly recommend taking preventative measures as the best approach for protection against cryptocurrency scams.
Stevenson says: “It is important to stay up-to-date with the latest scams and follow a few security guidelines that can help prevent you falling victim to a scammer. The most important rule is that you should never share your account credentials with anyone, particularly the details of any of your financial accounts. Be wary of anyone asking for account information online or over the phone or anyone inquiring about your identification. Never send cryptocurrency to an untrusted destination and avoid anyone promising high returns if you give them your cryptocurrency.”
“Scammers will use any method as their disposal to gain access to cryptocurrency, whether that be impersonating a government authority, a known financial institution or exchange, or even a potential love interest,” says Stevenson.
The bottom line is; If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.
