The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has received a complaint from a California resident regarding cryptocurrency fraud.

A California resident told DFPI she and a friend purchased $1,500 of what they believed to be ico for meta (formerly known as Facebook) Diem cryptocoin, on what they thought was the website diemfinex.com. The victims were given an invitation code, and once they had transferred their money, the scammers then told the victim her crypto coins had tripled in price. Suspicious, the victim did research online and discovered it was an imposter website. These allegations have not been verified by the DFPI.

This appears to be what is commonly called an “Advance Fee scheme,” which can take many forms, as discussed here: https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/advance-fee-schemes.

In addition, the DFPI cautions against so-called imposter scams, where the scammer pretends to be someone else, here, another legitimate website. More information is available here: https://consumer.ftc.gov/features/imposter-scams.

And, the DFPI reminds all Californians to protect their personal information online, as discussed here: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/protect-your-personal-information-data.

The DFPI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. To check whether an investment or financial service provider is licensed in California, consumers may contact the Department for questions or inquiries at ask.dfpi@dfpi.ca.gov or call toll-free at (866) 275-2677. If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding a consumer financial product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the DFPI at https://dfpi.ca.gov/file-a-complaint/.