There was a time where crowdfunding projects on Kickstarter or IndieGoGo were interesting. Many prominent individuals posted their unique projects, asking for fundings and then eventually making the cut. However, our team at First Option Recovery soon found out about the new types of crowdfunding scams that kept on unfolding daily on these crowdfunded platforms. As a result, our team (it boasts of over 128+ attorneys, by the way) decided to investigate and found out that many campaigns in these crowdfunding platforms are indeed fake.
If you don’t know what First Option Recovery is, let us assure you that your knowledge about our firm will eventually help you in the long run. As of now, we have recovered over $19 million from over 3100+ cases that we have solved. We have successfully dealt with endless scams such as chargeback frauds, and crowdfunding scams have recovered many funds from that particular scam because of a fantastic team of private investigators working in over 22+ countries. Our success rate of over 90% proves how dedicated we are to our craft.
Earlier, we had to wait for the great innovative products to come to the market, but now, we are supposed to get them for a more significant discount if we fund them. The discount part freaked out many buyers who ended up purchasing the products. The majority of them were primarily happy with the purchases. Some of the most famous crowdfunded campaigns were the Oculus Rift VR Headset, the Pebble Smartwatch, and the Bragi True- Wireless Headphones.
Before calling a crowdfunded product a scam, First Option Recovery lets you know that not all crowdfunded campaigns are fraudulent, and some have done exceptionally well in the field, all thanks to the crowdfunded money. Though many products end up overpromising and under-delivering, some never make it directly to the consumer market. In failure, one thinks that one has become another victim of one of the many crowdfunding scams, but that’s not true. He can directly contact us at First Option Recovery for help.
Despite the funding, many projects can have unexpected manufacturing delays due to the overload of orders past their manufacturing capabilities. If a project ends up being too successful, they will find it hard to fulfill all the order requests. Few not so distinguished ones end up being one of the many crowdfunding scams we’re now conveying in the paragraphs below.
Famous crowdfunding scams are we share crowdfunding scams or the waszupp crowdfunding scam. However, the most well-known crowdfunding scams are the iBackPack, a company that built backpacks and shoulder bags with built-in batteries for charging on the go. After raising the entire capital, the company funded the project and claimed that they would start shipping very soon. Unfortunately, they haven’t sent, and after a thorough investigation by the FTC, they found out that the CEO used the majority of the capital investments for personal use. Moreover, the company later threatened that they would leak all the investors’ info, which created havoc, and the FTC ultimately banned the company forever.
The advisors at First Option Recovery already warned its customers about iBackPack being just another of the many crowdfunding scams. The advice came from the top-class advisors we hired after thorough scrutiny and many interview process layers. The latter made a list of tips and tricks to avoid crowdfunding scams in the future. Details for it are listed below.
TIPS TO AVOID CROWDFUNDING SCAMS
Since Kickstarter and IndieGogo are well-known brands, many scammers have taken advantage of the situation to bring about many scam products and run away with the money once the total funding raises. Coming to the valid points to avoid crowdfunding scams, it is always advisable to look forward to the below points.
VERIFY THE BACKGROUND OF THE CREATOR TEAM – A MAJOR ATTRIBUTE IN A CROWDFUNDING SCAMS
At First Option Recovery, we do a thorough background check of any candidate before hiring one. The candidate needs to go through numerous rounds of interviews to secure his or her place in our team. The conclusion derives that you need to do proper verification before investing in anything, be it a person or your money.
Firstly, one needs to investigate the creator team backing a project. If there is no information supporting the creator team, there is a high chance of the product being another of the many crowdfunding scams found so far. Indiegogo has a wide selection of tools in its crowdfunding platform where a product funding description has a “Guaranteed Delivery Perk.” It means that the product is in the final stages of production, and delivery will start soon. Under the Guaranteed Delivery Perk, if the product does not reach you, you need to file a refund claim that they will process with due credit.
FIND OUT WHETHER THE PRODUCT IS IN THE DEVELOPMENT STAGE OR PRODUCTION STAGE
It would help if you always were careful before backing a project. To assure yourself that the product is not another of the many crowdfunding scams, you need to decide whether it is in the developmental stages or the production stage. If the creators are still on the hunt for the prototype, there is a high chance you won’t get your product. However, if the production is complete and the creators are working on the marketing field, there is zero possibility of anything going wrong. So, ultimately, the choice lies within your hands.
FIND OUT HOW COMPLEX THE PRODUCT IS TO MANUFACTURE
First Option Recovery deals with the most complex crowdfunding scams with ease and finesse. Coming to the word ‘complex,’ they seems to have been a misunderstanding that if a product goes through a set of complex procedures, it ought to be good. But the process is not valid for products that you find on crowdfunded platforms because such methods require much manual labor, something these platforms cannot provide.
Whenever you read about a product, do start contemplating how complex it is to manufacture, design, and implement. Some products are effortless to manufacture, while some require many budgets that cannot fulfill under a Kickstarter or IndieGoGo campaign. The product’s complex structure requires hiring a team of experienced developers, designers, and product managers. So, ultimately the product will never reach you at the end of the day, and you might lose your money.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU HAVE LOST YOUR MONEY IN SUCH CROWDFUNDING SCAMS?
Crowdfunding is a relatively new concept, and with just over a decade old, many innocent buyers are still not aware of the situation they are in right now. Crowdfunding Scams will take the world by storm very soon and if you are already a victim of one, just let us know at First Option Recovery, and we will help you out. Our private investigators are available worldwide, and we, as a top-class fund recovery firm, have been helping clients recovering funds since the time introduced these online crowdfunding firms. With over a decade of experience backing us, we have worked for over 3000+ cases, recovering more than $19 million so far. Contact us directly regarding any crowdfunding scams (or any scam in general like money wire transfer scam or forex scam) where you have lost your money, and we will get back to you with a proper solution.