The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint regarding Ethfinance, an entity claiming to be a cryptocurrency trading platform. The website is www.etherfaqs.net.
The investor learned of Ethfinance through a random friend request on LinkedIn. The investor transferred a total of approximately $310,000 using his Defi wallet to Ethfinance as he thought he would earn a large profit from trading in cryptocurrency.
The investor chose to withdraw some of his initial principal and purported profits. The investor communicated through the Telegram app with Ethfinance’s customer service department. The customer service department told the investor he must add more funds in order to complete the “smart contract” and would be able to withdraw his funds. The investor did not send any additional funds. The investor has been unable to withdraw any funds from his account, and his account is locked.
DFI has not verified these allegations.
This appears to be what is commonly called and “Advance Fee Fraud”. More about advance fee fraud.
DFI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. Investment professionals need to be licensed with DFI to offer investments to Washington residents. In addition, most investment products sold need to be registered with DFI. To check the licensing status and to find out if there are any complaints against an investment professional or investment product, please visit FINRA Brokercheck or contact the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division at (360) 902-8760. If you live outside of Washington State, contact your state securities regulator.
If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding an investment product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the Securities Division.
Additional Resources
Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers