Self-Defense Lessons: Forex Fraud

How to protect yourself from Forex fraud? This question is relevant both for beginners and experienced traders. Fraud has thrived in stock and currency markets since their inception. And most of the fraud schemes are as old as the world and are based on the excessive trustfulness of the traders themselves.Forex fraud: common schemes1) Broker fraud on spreadsAny transaction on Forex is carried out through brokers, who set the spread – remuneration. Accordingly, the difference in spreads of different brokers on different currency pairs can reach considerable sizes. Manipulating spreads, conducting direct and reverse transactions can get a good income, and for the investor the profitability of such a transaction will be very questionable.2) The disappearance of the brokerThe most notorious case of fraud is the direct theft by a broker or a false broker of funds from clients’ accounts. At the same time cybercriminals most often use off-shore registration and do not want to especially mask their intentions. But they annually attract hundreds and thousands of trusting investors who want to get more favorable conditions within the framework of cooperation with a broker.For more information about choosing a brokerage company, see the article: “Forex. How to choose a dealing center.3) Sale of trading signalsNo less often cheaters play on the inexperience of novice traders. Fear of taking the wrong step pushes such investors towards fraudsters who promise to share their trading recommendations, which almost never fail. The exchange of information is, of course, offered on a cost-recovery basis. And the cheater disappears with the money before the trader may need his advice.4) Sale of trading systemsAutomatic trading robots are a popular product at the Forex market. They are bought or purchased free of charge, looking for literally like a philosopher’s stone, trying to solve the problem of organizing lossless trade by the most obvious and, alas, non-guaranteed method – through the use of someone else’s intellectual labor. Meanwhile, there is a lot of evidence that traders’ own trading systems work best at Forex. But nobody, including the creator of the trading system, can confirm the reliability and efficiency of the trading system purchased from hands. Of course, this does not apply to all Expert Advisors, but most trading with their help is reminiscent of guessing the red and black fields on the roulette wheel.Fraudulent commercial systems may not be so obvious. For example, swindlers can appeal to the trader’s ignorance of the market realities. It is worth remembering that today, even the most beautiful trading system is not worth more than a couple of hundred dollars. You’re being offered a secret development for a couple of thousand? Think about the feasibility of such an acquisition, especially if the seller arose literally out of nowhere and is not known to almost anyone.5) Guarantee of resultsDoes your broker promise 100% profitability? PAMM-account promises incredible profits without risk? You’re likely to encounter scammers who are willing to promise anything in return for money from trusting investors.Learn more about choosing the right PAMM account in the article: How to choose a PAMM account manager?6) SubstitutionBrokerage companies allow traders to place investments on Forex – serve as intermediaries between the global market and small players. Today, all work and communication between brokers and their clients is carried out through web-interfaces of sites. And there’s an incredible amount of space for crooks here. Create fake twin sites of famous companies. Pseudo-agencies are opened, which disappear right after the collection of funds from the traders who have entrusted them with their money. In order to protect yourself from such risks, it is better to check the reputation of the company you are planning to work with in advance. And, if there is at least a shadow of doubt, refuse to cooperate with the broker even before the funds are deposited into the trading account.7) Fraudulent tradersBeginner investors are sometimes faced with the phenomenon of private initiatives of supposedly experienced traders offering to entrust them with money “for honest word and future profits”. Of course, the next move of such a manager will be to send a message to the investor about the withdrawal of the deposit. And since there’s no profit, we don’t have to share anything.8) GuruThe category of scammers who sell useless information and affiliate programs is one of the most dangerous and widespread. It is these pseudo-vodgurs that are becoming real leeches, gradually depleting the already poor reserves of the novice investor. Moreover, the guru’s own real success in trade is often zero. And he earns his money on the gullible gullible, ready to give his money for some knowledge, which will definitely allow him to fly to the top of financial prosperity in seconds.How to protect yourself from Forex fraud?In fact, it’s not that hard to protect yourself from being hooked by crooks. All you have to do is to approach any “experts” who promise the gold mountains from a practical point of view. Before you entrust someone with your capital, it is worth learning more about their professional activities, reputation, success. Didn’t find any information freely available? Most likely you will become one of the few “lucky”, which the cheater is going to deceive this time.When choosing a broker, pay attention to the company’s registrar country and the availability of real offices/dealing centers. It is best if they are located in your country or even the city. And the connection with the broker will be maintained not only through the Internet, but also by phone numbers that officially belong to the brokerage organization.