In recent years we have seen a steep increase in forex trading frauds. That’s why we at Scam Recovery want to take this opportunity in this blog post to highlight the most common schemes today. If you want to know more about how you can avoid them, and what there is to do if you have fallen victim to one of them, stay tuned for more content to come on this blog. Let’s begin.

Source: https://www.canva.com/photos/MAERFxR1YT8-a-person-with-handcuffs-holding-a-sign-that-says-fraud

Types of Forex trading frauds

The biggest issue with identifying forex trading frauds is that they usually base themselves on seemingly legitimate services, and this makes it tricky to identify the fraudster from the real deal. In other words, there are thousands of brands offering forex trading services online – mainly through contracts for differences (CFDS) – and most of them are not scammers. 

How can you know if the service provider you are interested in signing up with is a scam? Here are a few rules of thumb.

1. Signal service scams

Signal services involve providing a trader with a trading idea or recommendation that can potentially help them in the decision making process. It is ideal for newbie traders or those who have limited time available to study the markets. However, they can also be used by scammers to trick traders into making wrong decisions – and losing their money to the broker (which is ‘by chance’ also the provider of these dubious signals).

How do you know if you can trust the signal services you are offered? Here are some warning signs:

• Free signal services – The service provider naturally wants to make a profit from the service they offer you. Hence, if the signals are provided free of charge, the profit needs to come from somewhere else. We at Scam Recovery do not recommend, as a general rule of thumb, to trust these free tips and advice.
• Signal services from an unstated source – In the online forex trading market, there are several well-known signal service providers, such as TradingView, MetaQuotes and others. If your broker is working with one of these legitimate sources, they will usually state it on their website and platform in a clear manner.
• Promises of “high accuracy” signals – Signal accuracy of over 90% is very unlikely, even for the best tools in the business. A quick way to test their accuracy is to review historical trade signals versus the actual market data. 

2. Forex trading opportunity scams

It is not always easy to know whether the broker you are working with is reliable or not. As we’ve stated, there are thousands of them operating in the industry these days, with new ones popping up daily. 

However, there are a few rules of thumb that can help you identify the wrong from the right. Here are the most prominent ones:

• Unregulated brokerage – Whenever you sign up with a new broker, always confirm that they are licensed and regulated. You can request this evidence if it is not available on the website (but keep in mind that a regulated broker will always state its framework clearly). 
• Guaranteed returns and no risk – In forex trading, there is no %100 on anything. Therefore, any broker that promises absolute/high chances of returns with low/non-existent risk should be treated as a scam, and avoided.
• Insufficient information – Take a look at the potential broker’s website. If you think it is missing something, you should definitely trust your gut feeling. For example, if there’s not enough info about the trading platform, trading assets and security measures, you should opt for another broker. Also, it is imperative to check out the means of communication with the broker. For example, if a phone number is not provided, you should not sign up with them (and if it is, you should first check that it is real and that there is really someone answering the phone on the other side).

These were just a few raised flags in a nutshell. Of course, there are more signs to be aware of, on which we will elaborate in the future. In the meantime, we invite you to contact our experts at Scam Recovery if you want to know more about forex trading frauds, or if you believe that you have fallen victim to one. Let’s see how we can help you.

The post Unmasking The Most Common Forex Trading Frauds – How Can You Avoid Them? appeared first on ScamRecovery.

Since its inception, the crypto market has been a safe haven for scammers, due to its nature. We’ve already witnessed countless types of scams, and the worst news is that fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated by the day. Recently, the Federal Trade Commission reported that more than 46,000 people have already admitted to falling victim to a crypto scam. Remember, these are just the reported cases from 2021 to 2022, and there are probably many more unreported ones. 

What makes this industry so vulnerable? Firstly, there is no real official oversight on the global crypto industry, let alone unified regulations. Moreover, transactions are difficult or almost impossible to trace, making it very easy for fraudsters to take advantage of unsuspecting victims from any point on the map. 

We at Scam Recovery are here to help anyone who feels they have been scammed by crypto scammers. We have the tech and the know-how to trace these villains and retrieve the stolen funds. However, it is naturally best to avoid this situation in the first place. Let’s take a look at two of the most recent big crypto scams, to see what we can learn from them about protecting your funds.

Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/overhead-shot-of-a-tablet-and-bitcoins-8919521/

Overhead photo of a tablet with Bitcoin tokens and paper clips 

The OneCoin Crypto Scammers

Back in 2014, Dr. Ruja Ignatova and her husband Daniel Daek founded a digital coin called OneCoin. As of today, OneCoin is reported to be the largest crypto Ponzi scheme, with a mind-blowing $4 billion stolen between 2014 and 2016.

OneCoin operated in a seemingly organized manner, with offices in Bulgaria and a company registered in Dubai – OneCoin Ltd (and another one named OneLIfe Network Ltd in Belize). The company’s operating model was based on an MLM (multi-level marketing) network, meaning that the profit of the people in the organization is based on new people who join – in other words, a pyramid scam. It sold financial educational packages ranging from $100 to $100,000. 

Members were encouraged to recruit new members, advancing them to higher levels in the network and earning rewards. Once a member purchased a course, they received tokens that they can use to mine OneCoin. The founders claimed to trade this altcoin, promising extravagant profits. However, the coin was never actively traded. 

The scheme started falling apart in 2016 when authorities in different countries began investigating the company. By the time it was finally determined a pyramid scheme and an arrest warrant was issued for Dr Ruja, she had disappeared and has not been traced since. 

What can we learn from this incident? To never trust a crypto project, especially a new one, without researching it first. However, if you have already unfortunately lost your money to such a pyramid scheme, keep in mind that we at Scam Recovery can help. We use our cryptocurrency tracking expertise to trace crypto assets, and later on supply evidence to legal authorities, so that justice is served and funds are returned.

The BitConnect rise and fall 

BitConnect operated between 2016 and 2018. The scheme claimed to generate substantial profits from its platform and guaranteed returns of up to 40% through its “volatile trading software bot”.

The founders used BitConnect’s Lending Program, which allowed investors to buy a stake in its token, BCC. Authorities uncovered the scheme and found out that, as in the OneCoin case, the token was never traded. 

However, the BCC crypto scammers were even more sophisticated. They made up a fake trading history and boasted it to potential victims, and manipulated the token’s price, luring investors by creating an image of high demand and legitimacy. In 2021, federal prosecutors charged the founders, Satish Kumbhani and Glenn Arcao, with defrauding investors of $2 billion. 

At Scam Recovery, we use cutting-edge tools and resources such as Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), Human Intelligence (HUMINT), Cyber Intelligence (CYBINT), and Financial Intelligence (FININT) to unmask crypto scammers and locate them. We also help with the legal side, because finding the culprit is not enough – you also want your money back.

Conclusion

These two cases are, sadly, just the tip of the iceberg. And the worst part is that the criminals are getting more sophisticated and harder to trace down over time. Luckily, we at Scam Recovery always stay one step ahead and never rest on our laurels. 

Have you been manipulated by crypto scammers? Don’t hesitate to contact us. Let’s see what we can do for you.

The post The New Face of Crypto Scammers: Sophistication in Digital Deception appeared first on ScamRecovery.