Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
Belgian regulator FSMA blacklisted 38 fraudulent trading platforms, operating without license. The authority warned the public about the fraud risks and provided recommendations for investors.
The first one is about verification – before any investment has occurred, customers should always validate the identity of the company (names, addresses, registration country, incorporation numbers, etc.). And if there are any doubts and the business cannot be fully verified, it should be avoided.
Another recommendation is about licenses – customers should always check if the business is authorised and adequately regulated. If there is no clear proof that the company is licensed, it should be avoided. FSMA also pays attention to clone firms – fake entities impersonating genuine companies. Clones are dangerous, and for that reason, a double-check is always needed – small details such as phone numbers, addresses, and e-mail addresses may prove that the so-called company is an impersonator and a scam.
The Belgian regulator also reveals some of the scammers’ tricks. They usually place fraudulent ads on social media that often promote get-rich-quick schemes and fake training courses or other deals. Once customers click and provide contact details, they will be quickly approached by scammers presenting investment opportunities and ways to become rich overnight. Fraudulent mobile apps are also increasingly used.
FSMA also reminds us that people who run these platforms act aggressively, persuading customers to do certain things and repeatedly asking for money. Often, scammers want victims to provide remote access to their computers, and if they get it, significant damage may be expected – bank card drainage, identity theft and so on.
Here is the full list from the latest publication with fraudulent trading platforms exposed by FSMA. Some are blacklisted by numerous regulators, and you should avoid any of them:
- Agartha Asset Management (www.agarthaassetmanagement.com)
- Antarimarkets (www.antarimarkets.com)
- Apex500 (www.apex-500.com)
- Brokeragea (www.brokeragea.com)
- Calliber (www.calliber.io)
- Capital Professional Reserve (www.cp-r.net) (cloned firm)
- Concept Blue (www.concept-blue.com) (cloned firm)
- Cryptosaving (www.cryptosavings.io)
- CTmatador (www.ctmatador.com and www.platform.ctmatador-pro.com)
- DCMGROUP (www.dcmgroup.io)
- EJMarkets (www.ejmarkets.com)
- Europa Trade Capital (www.europatradecapital.com)
- Euro Trade (www.eurotrade.co)
- FinsRoyal (www.finsroyal.com)
- Foxane (www.foxane.com)
- Fxpoint (www.fxpoint.co)
- Glenrocks (www.glenrocks.com)
- Globalxtrades (www.globalxtrades.com)
- High Capital (www.high-capitals.com)
- Introtrade (www.introtrade.pro)
- Infinity4x (www.infinity4x.com)
- Kardon Capital (www.kardoncapital.com)
- LPLeurope (www.lpleurope.com)
- LPL Invest (www.lplinvest.com)
- Oriontero (www.oriontero.com)
- Slimhandel (www.slimhandel.com)
- Soltechx (www.soltechx.com)
- Standpoint Finance (www.standpointfinance.com)
- Ti-GI (www.ti-gi.com)
- Top Capital 24 (www.topcapital24.com) (cloned firm)
- Towards Source (www.towardssource.com)
- Traderhouse (www.traderhouse.com)
- Trade Horizon (www.tradehorizon.com and www.tradehorizon2.com)
- Trends Turbo (www.trends-turbo.com)
- Ualgo (www.ualgo.com)
- World Markets (www.worldmarkets.com)
- Word Wide Brokers (www.worldwidebrokers.co)
- x-tradebrokers (www.x-tradebrokers.com)