Tag: scams

  • Forex Trader Alert: The New Trading Scam To Avoid

    Forex Trader Alert: The New Trading Scam To Avoid

    Forex Trader Alert: The New Trading Scam To Avoid
    Anyone that guarantees profits of 100 percent or more should be marked as a scammer. There are no guarantees in Forex trading.

    By Guy Avtalyon

    According to some research, the new trading scams are increasing, so that’s the reason behind this Forex trader alert. Nothing is unusual; Forex trading increases and becomes more attractive for scammers as the people seek quick ways to earn money. As a beginner in the Forex market, you have to pay attention to these dishonest practices and avoid becoming a victim to those who prey on newcomers. In this article, I’ll give you the Forex trader alert and explain how to identify Forex market scams. But more importantly, I’ll tell you how to avoid them.

    The forex market is the largest financial market nowadays. Its average daily trading volume is over $5 trillion. And it’s growing because more and more people are interested in earning by trading Forex. Today, it isn’t hard due to the advanced technologies implemented in trading platforms. Trading can be automated as much as you want, from partial to complete, so it’s more convenient for ordinary people without a great knowledge about trading currencies.

    Forex trader alert: signal seller scams

    I know that almost all beginners believe that a good signal seller is a MUST if they want to profit. But how will you know who is a good signal seller? How will you distinguish good signal providers from the scammers? Well, you have to look out for multiple characteristics, many different things.

    One of them is unverified results. To be clear, if the signal sellers tell you they have an extremely high percentage of return, but they don’t have a track record to document, you can be sure they are scammers. Why? Simply, if they don’t have the track record, it is more likely they have never been trading based on these signals.

    The second forex trader alert could be subscription fees. Some scammers may offer you marvelous profits without verification. But here is a catch: to get access to the trade, they will ask you to pay extremely high subscription fees – one thing you have to pay attention to. When you give them some of your banking or credit details, they could use them for some other purpose, so be very careful when doing so. 

    My main concern about these scammers is how do they expect anyone to believe them. For example, if they have such great trade signals, why should they sell them? Why don’t they keep them out of the public eyes and use them to profit big? Why are they selling them?

    Also, as a beginner, pay attention to broker-tied signals. For example, a signal seller offers you this kind of service, but only if you sign up with a particular broker. They might receive the broker’s provisions, so they don’t really care whether your trade results in losses or profits.

    Forex trader alert: How to avoid scammers

    Scammers will promise you large profits with minimum or no risks. The logical question is how anybody can guarantee anything 100 percent? So, if someone gives you 100 percent guarantees, the alarm must be turned on because it’s more likely fairy tales. On the other hand, if someone has a 100 percent working strategy, why should they want to sell it? Instead, such could enjoy all benefits and profit in the market, right?

    These scammers will ask you some small fees or no fees. But be cautious. There is no such thing as free lunch. Well, maybe in the mousetrap. Keep this in mind, especially if you’re a beginner in the Forex market.

    But nothing is black and white as usual. Even with the knowledge that you can find many scammers out there, the Forex market is a great opportunity to profit. All you need to do is to follow some simple rules.

    For example, if you find some platform or broker claiming that has confidential data or a secret method that will provide you large profits, ask for the free trial, demo account, or similar. Also, check if they are registered. Be especially cautious when they ask you to install any trading software. You have to check it, and sometimes that will require professional assistance. Fraudulent software can be hazardous for your computer, your personal data, and sensitive data on your computer. 

    For example, a valid broker will provide you a proof of its legitimacy. Anyway, pick the Forex broker from the list of regulated companies.

    It would be best if you had a trusty and safe broker, not one that gives you false promises. Check Traders-Paradise’s Wall of Fame.

    How to find a reliable Forex broker?

    It’s not an easy task, so take your time and examine it. Don’t rush! You have to examine all pros and cons. Google it. Find as much info as you can. Read reviews, visit forums, ask people. It’s better to spend more time assessing the brokers than to have a bad experience with them and lose money. 

    Also, be very cautious whenever you see someone offering quick and easy money. Whoever tells you that you can make money with a gain of over 25% per month is lying to you. There is no easy money in the Forex market. You’ll need a lot of education, fast minded, and patience to be profitable here. You have to spend time and effort to learn how to trade. Otherwise, you’ll never earn even a small amount.

    What can you do to protect yourself?

    It is important to examine how the broker fits the regulatory authority regulations. You’ll find some information on brokers’ websites, so check them. Look if you can find some anomalies, something strange or unusual. Compare that with regulations. 

    Almost to forget, read all the small letters! Sometimes you’ll find important things there. Remember, scammers like small letters! They like to put their terms and conditions there, and you might have a problem when wanting to withdraw, for example, bonus funds.

    What should you ask to avoid Forex trading scams?

    You have all the right to ask questions to determine if you’re dealing with a trustworthy broker or scammers. Also, demand all the info in written form. No, you cannot give trust based on a phone call or verbal communication. 

    For example, ask the broker about the bid/ask spreads. If the broker says it is around 8-9 pips, don’t trust. The regular bid/ask spreads are 2 or 3 pips. This is a great forex trade alert. The spread is very important both for the trader to make a profit and broker.

    Always use the service of a regulated broker. Such has good client reviews, and it’s authorized, transparent in fees and compliance policy.

    The attraction of quick and easy money will always be around us and present in the market among the traders. That’s why you must understand what it takes to be successful at currency trading. Using a get-rich-quick scheme will put you at risk. Nothing good could come with it. Remember, never pick the broker with great but unrealistic promises and don’t trade randomly. 

    I’ll tell you more about the second in one of the next articles.

  • Online Lenders Frauds – How To Recognize Them

    Online Lenders Frauds – How To Recognize Them

    Online Lenders Frauds - How To Recognize Them
    One-third of American adults have been faced an attempted fraud in recent years

    By Guy Avtalyon


    Any business that involves considerable amounts of money     quickly exchanging hands is a fertile ground for scams and frauds and the same comes to online lenders frauds. Scammers always look for a chance to quickly make a buck with the least possible effort. And the lending industry is rife with scammers who fraudulently take out the loans. But such does not present an overt danger for people looking for loans. Big banks and financial institutions employ artificial intelligence and machine learning to fight against these types of frauds. But, a common consumer of the lending industry’s products has to be aware of a potential scam coming from the other side, fraudulent lenders.

    How widespread are scams?

    Seemingly with every day, a new type of financial product comes to market. And each of them presents a scammer with an opportunity for at least a couple of different scams. And you can be certain that there are some very creative fraudsters out there. In the lending industry, just due to the wealth of different products there is a wealth of different scams.

    Many studies and reports indicate that about one-third of American adults have faced an attempted fraud in recent years. While scammers do not practice ageism, millennials do seem to be the hardest hit of all age groups. The FTC’s study conducted in 2017 based on the filed consumer complaints show that almost 40% of millennials have suffered financial losses due to fraud. While these findings are based only on people who filed a fraud complaint, it is quite higher than 18% among people of 70 or more years of age. While this study doesn’t give any definitive conclusions, it does paint a picture of people in their 20’s not being fully cognizant of the potential dangers on the financial markets.

    How to avoid online lenders frauds

    Fraudsters always prey on vulnerable people, and in the loans industry, it is people who desperately need money. The best way to protect yourself from a scam is to arm yourself with knowledge. Especially on how scammers will try to defraud you. While searching for an online lender that offers a product that suits your needs, you have rather slim chances to stumble upon a scammer. But, as in any other area of life knowledge is power and there is no safety in ignorance. Scammers will come hunting actively for their victims. And the only sure way to protect yourself is by knowing how to recognize a scam.

    How to recognize an online lenders scam

    In the majority of scams involving loans consumers are not targets for direct financial gains, but online lenders and similar financial institutions. Consumers are more often just a tool in the scammers’ arsenal. First and foremost as a source of a legitimate identity for fraudulently obtaining a loan. And that is the first precaution a person must have on their mind, how to protect their own personal information from identity theft. Scammers often try to obtain genuine personal information, personal documents, addresses, and social security numbers; and then use them for applying for personal loans from online lenders. 

    By stealing the identity of a person they can fraudulently obtain a loan, which then often a victim of the identity theft will have to repay. Such identity thefts are often done by simple phishing methods. Usually by sending forged emails with requests to resubmit your documents to your bank or such. 

    Who has the right to ask you?

    While banks and many other institutions have a legitimate right to ask you to provide such information, they will not ask you by email to resubmit them. Most certainly not because “the fire in the office building in Delaware has destroyed your personal file” as claimed by an email in my Spam folder I got from [email protected]. And that’s another way how they mislead victims into giving them sensitive personal information. They send mass emails from slightly misspelled domains. And they don’t know whether you have an account at some bank or not. They will just send you the email because they have found your address among many they have purchased someplace. And you need to be very careful when reading these kinds of emails. 

    When I got the said email, I spent hours wondering why I got it when I’m not a Bank of America customer, before I’ve noticed that I’ve got an email from the Bank af Omerica. A friend of mine got an email from the Bank of Ameirca around the same time.

    This is how scammers will try to dupe an Average Joe to provide them the ability to scam online lenders. And they do have tools in their arsenal they will use to try to defraud you personally by offering you fake loans. And here is a list of common red flags that some loan offers might be a scam.

    Unsolicited loan offer

    Whether by phone, email, or social networks a potential scammer might try to contact you and present you with a loan offer. This could be a legitimate offer. But, the legitimate offer will contain a way to contact back the company which is making the offer, a phone number, or website address. A scammer will continue to communicate with you in the same manner. Legitimate offers are always automated and replying to them will have no results. While scammers will be actively waiting for your reply. Just ask yourself, have you ever met a person who called some customer service and got a living person in less than 15-20 minutes? Scammers reply after 15-20 seconds. With such quick and polite responsiveness they aim to build up your confidence in them and provide them with personal information or money.

    No interest in your payments history/credit score

    While many legitimate online lenders offer bad credit loans, no reputable lender will neglect to do a proper check of your ability to pay back the loan. The payment history or credit score is just two of the factors they might take into account. The difference is that they will not take into account just them. Legitimate online lenders might ask you to provide the employment/income information, education, and such which they use to calculate the risk of offering you a loan. Scammers will never, as they don’t need it.

    Online lenders are not registered in your state

    Per the Federal Trade Commission’s regulations loan brokers and lenders must be registered in states in which they offer services to residents. And you must check the lender’s website for the list of the eligible states. You can also find the lists of registered lenders on the web pages of your state’s Department of Financial Regulations or Banking. And this is the easiest way to recognize fraud. Scammers cannot be found in the official registration databases.

    Their website is not secure

    Online lenders do care about the potential frauds and scammers who impersonate them. The simplest way they protect their own cyberspace identity is by employing SSL certificates for their domains. While these are first and foremost used for securing safe communication with their websites, they incidentally provide proof of authenticity of their websites. Such SSL certificate protected internet domains are easy to recognize, they start with https:// and on many internet browsers there will be a padlock before the address. When you see both of these two you can be certain that it is a web page of a legitimate company. The absence is not proof that it is a scammer, but the presence is proof it is not a scammer.

    No physical address

    Even purely online lenders do have physical addresses. They might conduct their operations only in cyberspace, but their employees still need to sit in some offices. Scammers don’t need them. Sometimes they do provide them, but a quick search of such will lead you to some empty land or a shabby looking shed in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes they will advertise with a P.O. box, which shouldn’t fill you with confidence about their legitimacy.

    The pressure to act quickly

    Scammers will always push you to accept their offer today, this very moment. They are in the hurry to close the deal before you realize what is going on. Legitimate online lenders have time to wait. Even if they impose some time limit for accepting their offer it could be a few weeks, not days or hours. Only scammers will try to push you into quickly accepting their offer.

    Payments before approval

    This is one of the tricks a scammer might try to employ which is similar to the Nigerian Prince fraud. Scammers, in this situation, are only interested in collecting such “fees”. While it might be some small amounts of $15-20, no legitimate lender will ask you for something like this. Online lenders or brick and mortar banks, it doesn’t matter, all of them, if they are legitimate companies, will deduct the fees from your loaned amount or include them in monthly payments.

    How to protect yourself from online lenders scam

    Getting a loan from an online lender is like crossing a street at a crossing. It is generally safe but has certain dangers if you are not looking both ways. There are just three things you should do to fully protect yourself from fraud. And two of them are things you should be doing already anyway, as a way to safeguard yourself from any type of fraud or dishonest business.
    Never resubmit sensitive personal information, unless you can independently establish that it is a legitimate request for confirming your identity.
    You should never pay fees in advance.
    Finally, never accept loan offers for which you have less than a week to decide.