How do I know if I’m a victim of a trading scam?

If any of the following happened to you, you are probably the victim of a trading scam:

• Firstly, has your account manager convinced you to start small with a deposit of 250 (Euros, Pounds, or Dollars)? Did he then show you on the trading platform that your initial investment has now grown to 1000 in a single week (or something like that)?
• Secondly, were you looking to invest in Forex, Binary Option or Cryptocurrency? Did your broker tell you that you can become rich trading just a few hours a week?
• Maybe you are already making tons of money on their trading platform and yet they persuade you to keep putting more money. When you to attempted to make a withdrawal, did they convince you and pressure you to leave the money in?
• Did your broker provide a very insecure password to your new trading account like 123456?
• Finally, does your company charge zero fees to make trades for you?

If you answered yest to one or more of the above questions, there is a really good chance that you are indeed a trading scam victim. All of the above are key indicators that you have been the victim of an online trading scam. Why? Because A, there is no investment opportunity under the sun that can make a 300X return in a week. B, it is impossible for a juvenile investor with no prior trading experience to become rich with just a few hours of work a week. C, no legitimate brokerage would try and prevent you from making a withdrawal. It is your money! D, no professional trading company would put their customers’ money at risk by providing an insecure password like 123456. And E, how does your broker make money if he doesn’t charge fees unless he is scamming you?

To sum up…

In other words, if your broker is making impossibly outrageous claims about the profits you can make, tells you that you don’t need experience, prevents you from withdrawing your money, provides childish passwords, and doesn’t charge fees, he/she is ripping you off. On the other hand, an honest broker will be straightforward and explain the risks, that you might lose all of your money, especially if you are inexperienced.

Still not sure if you were defrauded?

Try this:

• Go to Google and type in “(insert the name of your trading company) scam”. What do you see?
• Also type “FCA warning (insert the name of your trading company)”. Did the FCA issue a warning about this company?
  
  

FCA stands for Financial Conduct Authority which is a UK regulator of financial services.

Is Your Broker Regulated or Unregulated?

Many of the Forex, Binary, Cryptocurrency or CFD businesses are not regulated. If they don’t have a trading license, it is impossible for them to trade on your behalf. To be clear, if you went to the London Stock Exchange and wanted to buy stocks they wouldn’t let you since you are not licensed, right? In fact, you’d have to hire a licensed broker who’d make his fee for placing trades on your behalf. In our experience dealing with hundreds of trading companies, we have never encountered a legitimate unregulated trading platform. Every single one has been a scam.

How can you tell if your broker is regulated?

I’ll tell you how you can know. Regulated companies clearly advertise this on their websites. If you want to check this, go onto your trading platform website, scroll down to the bottom and look for any indication that they are regulated (for example Cysec, FCA, Asic). If you don’t see it, they are not regulated. And even if they are, they may not be regulated in your country. For example, EuropeFX is regulated by Cysec but they also operate in Australia where they are not regulated.

Example: authorized by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (License No. 198/13)

Does your trading company do business out of Vinuatu, Belize or even Estonia?

If so, and your company is based in one of the above countries, this is a key scam indicator. The reason they choose these countries is because they are known for lax enforcement and government corruption so they have little to fear from law enforcement.

If you are not certain if your trading company is scam, please schedule a Free Consultation with one of Wealth Recovery Consultants and we will help you determine if you have been the victim of a trading scam.