Belgian FSMA warns against dozens of fraudulent online trading platforms
Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) today issued a warning regarding dozens of unauthorized investment platforms targeting the Belgian public.
During the last weeks, the FSMA continued to receive complaints from consumers concerning new fraudulent online trading platforms that are operating in the Belgian market.
These trading platforms try to arouse consumers’ curiosity by placing scam ads on social media. In these fake ads, an influential person often explains how to get rich quick.
Trading platforms also use mobile applications to lure victims. These fake ads or mobile applications often form part of the offer of a virtual currency or training course. After clicking on the ad or downloading the mobile app and having given their contact details, the victims are usually swiftly called by fraudsters presenting a concrete investment proposal (in shares, alternative investment products, virtual currencies, etc.).
These platforms act very aggressively. Scammers even try to persuade the victims to allow them to take control of their computer remotely in order to make certain money transfers. The fraudsters also try to convince the victims to invest increasingly higher amounts of money. They also make promises of repayment in exchange for one last money transfer. This is a technique to collect even more money from their victims.
Victims who agree to do so complain in particular about:
- finding themselves unable to recover their money, or
- simply not hearing any more from the platform with which they have invested their money.
These are most likely cases of investment fraud.
The FSMA strongly advises against responding to any offers of financial services made by the following new trading platforms:
- 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)
The regulator also warns investors to beware of ‘cloned firms’: companies that pass themselves off as different, lawful companies even though they have no connection with them. A close look at the email addresses or contact details for the companies in question may prove useful in order to detect this type of fraud and prevent it.