With its increased use Internet, especially during the current period, it has been observed that increase in cases of investment fraud: unlicensed individuals who use aggressive sales tactics to market financial instruments over the phone, email, or social media, claiming to represent reputable companies and promising «safe investments,», They advertise trading via an online platform, primarily in foreign exchange (FOREX), precious metals, oil, contracts for difference (CFDs), and cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.
Often, they direct unsuspecting investors to websites or use testimonials and material that appear genuine, and it is not easy to tell that they do not reflect reality. They specifically target prospective investors who are looking for online investments, search engines, or social media. They advertise online trading platforms that are not licensed, and they promise high returns to attract investors to investments that—while they appear to offer reasonable or high returns—may in fact involve illegal activity. They often use images of luxury goods or famous people to persuade people to invest in these schemes.
Caution is advised, because The ad may then link to another website, where the user is asked to invest in a platform after providing their personal information, or open a special account managed by the company being advertised.
It should be noted that most victims report that, Initially, their investments yielded significant returns, which gives them an incentive to view their investment as a success and to invest more money or recommend that a friend or family member invest.
However, when they later requested their profits, the deposit into their account was excessively delayed under various pretexts, and eventually their account on the platform was deactivated, resulting in the loss of their money.
What should investors be aware of when investing through these providers?;
According to the Capital Markets Commission, investors should:
1. Be especially cautious when you see ads online and on social media that promise high returns.
2. Always be cautious if someone contacts you via a phone number that is either unknown or even has a foreign country code, and they insist to carry out the proposed investment immediately. For example, there has recently been an increase in such calls with the prefix (+ 44..).
3. Do not invest immediately, before first verifying the information provided by the company in question.
They should always ask whoever calls them, or look for the following information on the website to which they have been referred for investments or transactions:
– What is the company? Who invites them or advertises to them? Which company operates the platform they’re recommending?;
– Where is it located? the headquarters of the company?;
– The company is licensed; If they are told that it is licensed, or if the advertisement or website states that it is licensed, they should read carefully Which regulatory authority issued the license?.
– Before providing any of your personal information or making an investment decision, always do your own research on the product and the company through which
are considering investing, and should make sure they have received the basic information listed above and that the company is licensed by an existing competent supervisory authority.
– Before disclosing any of your information or making an investment decision, they should verify if the company is licensed by the Hellenic Capital Market Commission or the Bank of Greece
A Greek or European passport.
– Refer to the EC Warning List. to learn about potential online scams.
– Visit the websites of the foreign supervisory authority (whether from the European Union or a third country) that you were told has licensed the
company in order to a) confirm that it is licensed, and b) obtain information regarding the pOnline Scam Alerts that have been posted.
– Do not pay any money in advance until you are certain that you have completed the above steps and checks.
– No marketing pitch should make investors forget that There is never a high return without high risk, which may result in the loss of some or all of the invested capital.
The warnings
Since 2018, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission has been warning investors about online companies —platforms that were not authorized to offer investments in financial instruments in Greece or to hold investors’ funds.
Specifically, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission has issued warnings regarding the following online companies and platforms on the dates listed below:
– NORTHFINTECHFX Trading Services (www.northfintechfx.co) (December 30, 2020)
– INVEST-MOMENT (https://invest-moment.com) (December 8, 2020)
– VITAFX (https://vitafx.com) (December 3, 2020)
– STOCKLUX («https://www.stocklux.co») (October 15, 2020)
– TRADIXA («https://www.tradi-xa.com») (August 5, 2020)
– BTSAVE («https://www.btsave.io») (August 3, 2020)
– MAXITRADE («https://maxitrade.com») (March 30, 2020)
– Stoxmarket.com (February 7, 2018)
– »G8Markets” and Spot4Trade (January 22, 2018)
– »F1PRO MARKET" and CAC400 (January 11, 2018)
The provision of investment services and the conduct of investment activities without a license from the Hellenic Capital Market Commission or the corresponding supervisory authority of another European Union member state constitutes aoffense, which is subject to severe criminal and administrative penalties.
