RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A study by Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) found that men are the main victims of financial scams, and they occur mainly with cryptocurrencies through WhatsApp.
The study was conducted by the institution’s Center for Behavioral Studies and Research (CECOP) and interviewed 1,002 people. Of these, 178 said they had been victims of financial fraud.
According to the study, the group is made up of men (91%), aged between 30 and 39 (36.5%), with a monthly family income between 2 and 5 minimum wages (23%), and with a graduate studies degree (38%).
However, people who scammers failed to convince have a diversified portfolio, with stocks, investment and real estate funds, or private pension funds, for instance.
Many who fell for scams had no financial investments or invested more in savings, cryptocurrencies, and startups. Financial issues were not reported as a motive for investing. On the contrary, 35% said they were looking for profit, although still without a defined goal, followed by the 17% of respondents who were looking to diversify their portfolio.
Cryptocurrencies were mentioned by 43.3% of respondents. Next come other markets, such as Forex (29.8%), binary options (16.9%), and stocks (15.2%). Most scams occurred through WhatsApp (27.5%) or by word of mouth (19.7%). And in over half of cases, the scammer was someone they knew.
Other factors that helped these people fall for scams was the professional appearance of the website or the fact that relatives or friends had made the same investment. Good professional assistance, a low investment required, or unawareness of the scam modality were also contributing factors.
Upon realizing it was a fraud, the majority (46.6%) of respondents tried to file a complaint or denunciation, and the main option (65.1%) was the CVM. People also look for the company itself, attorneys or denunciation websites.
Source: Valor