Dear investors, the number of fraudulent online trading platforms is higher now than ever before. Scam Reader frequently receives numerous inquiries from individuals who have been scammed. Notably, most of these platforms employ similar deceptive tactics, some of which are elaborated below:
Top 4 Deceptive Tactics Employed By Scam Brokers
1. Creating Numerous Websites At A Go
One reason why scam brokers thrive in this era is the ease of setting up a website. Unlike in the past, today you can have a fully-fledged website up in under 20 minutes, for as little as $100 or even less. As such, scammers can create websites at any time they wish.
Worth noting is that many scammers tend to run multiple websites simultaneously, as a deceptive tactic. They usually do so for various reasons including to target different geographic regions or demographics. By tailoring each website to appeal to people in a certain geographic region or demographic, they can attract victims from various parts of the world easily and make more money.
Another reason is to diversify scams and income. They may use multiple websites to run different types of scams at the same time. For instance, they might operate a website that provides fake online trading services, a website that offers scam recovery services, and so on. That way, they can make money by defrauding traders, victims of scams, and in many other ways.
2. Using Fake Reviews
As I stated in this post, the use of fake reviews is one of the common deceptive tactics employed by fake brokers to lure unsuspecting investors. Scammers will go to the extent of paying unscrupulous digital marketers to pose as clients who are satisfied with their services.
This feedback may even be published on major review platforms such as Trustpilot, Sitejabber, Yelp, Better Business Bureau, and social media. Remember that many potential clients rely on the general feedback on these platforms to make decisions.
3. Using Social Media Strategy
Here’s how these fraudsters may lure and possibly defraud so many people. First, they create Facebook pages for each website. Thereafter, they recruit unscrupulous persons to pose as legitimate clients on these pages. The imposters will post screenshots of deposits and huge earnings to entice people. Many people will be enticed by those attractive earnings and fall for the trick only to be blocked everywhere by the scammers after depositing funds.
Beware of the following names that we believe to be associated with orchestrating online trading frauds, using this deceptive tactic on Facebook and other social media platforms:
- Brendan Grant Hughes.
- Westley J Harmeier.
- Albert Torrance.
- Gonzalo Garcia Pelayo.
- Oscar Pelayo.
We believe that these scammers are still orchestrating fraud using the social media strategy I just described above. Even though we were unable to verify whether these are real names or fictitious aliases, we advise you to be extremely vigilant if you come across any purported trading platform associated with them.
4. Using Whatsapp
By the way, why do scammers use WhatsApp? To answer this question, we’ve found out that scammers prefer using WhatsApp to any other means of communicating with clients due to a few reasons:
The first reason is that WhatsApp allows for anonymity. This enables them to communicate with potential victims without revealing their true identity. It also makes it easier for them to impersonate trusted entities or individuals, allowing them to build clients’ trust.
The second reason is wider reach and convenience. According to Umico, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app with over 2.5 billion active monthly users. For scammers, this extensive user base is a vast pool of potential victims.
How Can You Recover Your Money?
There are a few large organizations such as the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) known to help victims of scams recover their funds. It adequately pursues funds lost to scams by working in collaboration with top law enforcement agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Unfortunately, these entities, especially the Internet Crime Complaint Center, prioritize cases of victims who have lost significant amounts, perhaps beyond $5,000. Smaller-scale scams often do not meet their threshold for investigation. This leaves many victims with no option for assistance as their losses may not be significant enough to warrant attention.
Moreover, these entities are often overloaded with cases, meaning that you may have to wait for a very long time, perhaps weeks or months, to receive attention if your case meets their thresholds.
Report A Scam
Have you been defrauded by a dubious broker? If so, go to this page to report the incident and seek help. Or email scamread@scamreader.info.
Final Thoughts
Dubious brokers have erupted in numbers over the last few years, thanks to technology and many other factors. These crooks have made online trading a highly risky affair that has seen many unsuspecting investors fall for their deceptive tactics. With a little knowledge about these tactics, you are better able to avoid falling victim.
FAQs
1. How can I avoid being re-scammed in my efforts to recover lost funds?
Answer: Don’t pay an upfront fee to any purported scam recovery service. Legitimate scam recovery services will deduct their fees(a small percentage) from the recovered funds.
2. Isn’t it better to use big and well-known scam recovery entities like the IC3?
Answer: While it is true, these scam recovery services often focus on massive-scale scams involving cases where significant amounts were lost.
As such, your case may not meet their threshold for investigation. But even if it meets the threshold, it might end up on their long waiting list, as they handle many cases similar to yours.
As you can see, it might be less painful to opt for an alternative recovery service.
3. How do I ensure that I don’t fall for these deceptive tactics?
Answer: Doing due diligence before investing in a trading platform is the key. Scamreader.info has simplified the process for you. All you have to do is visit the site and search for a trading platform to determine if it’s legitimate or a scam.
4. How quickly can I get my funds back with the help of your scam recovery services?
Answer: It’s hard to give an exact time frame because every case is unique.