Binary options are a very popular financial instrument, and along with honest binary options brokers, more and more fraudulent projects are appearing whose goal is to steal client funds.
There are quite a lot of fraudulent schemes, and if a trader opens an account with such a broker and funds it, then in 99.9% of cases you can say goodbye to your funds. Of course, there are scammers who use separate scam schemes and sometimes can pay out some funds for the sake of appearance, but more often “black” brokers appropriate all the money without any explanation.
Therefore, in order to protect yourself and minimize the likelihood of opening an account with a fraudulent broker, it is worth knowing what methods they can use to defraud you of funds.
Binary options scam
Fraud in binary options always comes down to non-payment of funds, and completely different methods can be used for this, including the most standard one – account blocking.
But there are cases when the trader himself is to blame for the fact that the funds were lost and can no longer be returned. Such cases include:
- Loss of deposit when trading independently . In this case, the fault lies only with the trader/investor, since the decision on transactions is made independently in this case. In order to avoid losing the entire deposit, it is always important to adhere to the rules of money management and risk management , as well as conduct a qualitative analysis.
- The account was registered in someone else's name . If the broker becomes aware that the account was opened in someone else's name, it will be immediately blocked without the possibility of recovery. The only possible way to restore such an account is to confirm your identity, but if the account was actually opened in someone else's name, then it will be almost impossible to confirm your identity.
- Account verification failed . This point “follows” from the previous one, but with some reservations. If the account was opened in your name, but simply not verified, then this problem can be solved very easily and quickly. You just need to go through verification and all funds can be withdrawn. If the account is opened in someone else’s name, then the consequences were described above.
Beginners should always keep these three possible scenarios in mind to avoid losing money in the future.
Ways to cheat on binary options
If a trader has registered his account with an unscrupulous binary options broker, then nothing depends on the trader himself, and then such a broker will use any of the methods of misappropriating the client’s funds. The most popular can be considered:
- periodic debiting of small amounts from the client’s account;
- opening transactions without the client’s knowledge;
- offering highly profitable ways of earning money that are obviously losing;
- exploitation of loopholes in the user agreement;
- bonus fraud;
- refusal to withdraw funds;
- account blocking without compelling reasons.
Debit
When trading binary options through a fraudulent broker, small amounts may periodically be debited from the trader’s account, or some commissions may be charged that were not initially present. Thus, after a certain period, a lot of the client’s money may disappear from the account, and it will be impossible to return it.
Opening trades by a broker
Another, more popular way to withdraw funds from a trading account is to open “left” transactions, which the trader may not even be aware of. And of course, such transactions will only be unprofitable, and not always for small amounts. At such moments, it is also impossible to prove anything, since the transactions remain in the trading history, and the “black” binary options broker will refer to the trading history for any claims that the trader did not open such transactions.
Offers to make quick money on binary options
This method can be used by many brokers, including those that are not initially fraudulent projects.
The bottom line is that after the client (trader) opens a trading account and indicates his personal contacts, the managers of the binary options broker will begin to actively call the client and offer ways to get rich quick. Most often, this involves either transferring funds under the management of a manager, or purchasing some effective and innovative highly profitable product in the form of a robot or program.
In the case of transferring funds into management, the company manager will successfully “merge” them, and the reason for draining the deposit will be that there simply were not enough funds, but there are still opportunities and if the client replenishes the account with another $100, $500, $1,000, then excess profit will be received. And this will continue until the client realizes that he is being deceived.
The second way may not always be the purchase of a product; most often, an unscrupulous binary options broker provides a robot or program for free, and the manager persuades the client to start trading using the signals of this robot or program. The result, as it becomes clear, will be exactly the same as in the case of transferring funds under the management of a manager.
Loopholes in the binary options broker's user agreement
If the trader has not studied the user agreement before replenishing the account, then if there are hidden or implicit clauses in it, the trader may ultimately lose all funds, regardless of how much is in his account.
Most often, a “black” binary options broker simply blocks the trader’s account, citing the client’s violation of any of the points. Therefore, it is always worth carefully studying the user agreement before funding a trading account, since sometimes there are cases when accounts are blocked due to the fault of the trader, and not because the binary options broker is a scammer.
Binary options bonus scam
If a fraudulent broker uses this method, there can be a lot of options for fraud.
The first thing you should pay attention to is the size of the bonus. If a binary options broker offers to get 200% or more on a deposit, then you should be wary, since current bonuses and promotional codes from reliable binary options brokers do not allow you to get more than 100% on a deposit, and such interest is accrued only once on the first deposit .
Also, when using bonuses, it may be that the profit received will be accrued as bonus funds, and the resulting loss will, on the contrary, be written off from real funds, which ultimately will lead to the fact that all funds will flow into bonus funds, and it will be impossible to work off such a bonus.
Refusal to withdraw funds from a binary options broker
If the broker does not withdraw money , then the simplest thing that can happen is to simply cancel the withdrawal request without explaining the reasons, but the account is not blocked and trading can continue to be carried out (so that the trader ends up losing the deposit).
But a more popular method is long processing of the application, which in the end will not be approved for completely different reasons. It can be:
- fictitious problems in the operation of payment systems (delay allegedly due to the fault of the bank or payment system);
- fictitious software update at a binary options broker (to delay deadlines);
- erroneous cancellation of a withdrawal request after a long wait.
I would like to pay special attention to the last point, since most often fraudulent brokers initially indicate in the regulations that a withdrawal application can be processed, for example, from 7 to 14 business days. Therefore, all this time the company will simply refer to the regulations, after which it will cancel the application without explanation. The trader will, of course, be able to create a new order, but the result will be the same. And so on until the client simply gets tired of waiting or until he loses all his funds in trading.
Blocking a trading account at a binary options broker
Perhaps the most common type of withdrawal of funds from clients is account blocking. It can happen for some reason or without.
Accounts are most often blocked by companies that do not plan to pay anything to traders at all, and it may be that blocking occurs as soon as the account is replenished.
How to return funds from a broker?
If the broker is not regulated by anyone, then, unfortunately, it will be impossible to return the funds, since such companies in 99% of cases are registered in offshore zones.
If the binary options broker has a license from any of the regulators, then there is a chance of a refund. To do this, you will need to submit a complaint to the regulator, in which you describe the situation in detail, and also be sure to attach all kinds of documents and evidence of fraudulent actions on the part of the broker. This could be screenshots, account numbers, bank statements, histories of correspondence and communications with company managers. The more evidence is collected, the greater the chances of paying off the stolen funds.
List of fraudulent binary options brokers
Of course, more and more such brokers are appearing every day, and the companies listed below may close their activities in the near future, but the description of these fraudulent brokers can help identify such companies in the future, especially since most often the owners of fraudulent brokers are the same same people.
Armax Trade
A distinctive feature of this “black” broker is the minimum deposit, which is $400, as well as the absence of a demo account and inflated payout percentages, which of course is very suspicious. Also, when visiting the company’s website, there are many errors and inconsistencies.
Phoenix Option
There were previously a lot of positive reviews about this company, which were allegedly left by real clients of the company, but in the end it became clear that all these comments were bought, as a lot of evidence began to appear that the broker was not paying funds to traders and dissatisfied clients appeared many times more.
Alef Market
Despite the fact that the broker independently developed the trading terminal (according to the same broker), very often one could observe dissatisfied traders who did not receive their funds back, which was confirmed more than once by various evidence.
Meta Investing
The company has a license, but it was issued by a fictitious organization calling itself a regulator. After this, it immediately becomes clear that this broker is a scammer, as it uses a non-existent license. Therefore, you should always pay attention to what license the broker has and whether this regulator is official.
Reliable binary options brokers
There are proven and reliable binary options brokers, of which there are quite a few.
You can evaluate a broker according to several criteria, which do not guarantee 100% results, but significantly reduce the possibility of falling for a scammer. When studying a binary options broker, you should pay attention to:
- trading conditions;
- availability of a demo account;
- online support;
Trading conditions include the minimum deposit, payout percentages for options, methods for replenishing and withdrawing funds , and bonus sizes.
Having a demo account will allow you to try out trading and understand whether the broker actually offers trading.
Online support will allow you to get answers to questions, and you can also find out about broker licenses or ask other questions. Support should respond competently and quickly.
Proven and reliable binary options brokers include Pocket Option, Binarium and Quotex.
Binary options broker Pocket Option
The PocketOption broker is licensed by the Center for Financial Markets , and also meets all the criteria described above, and anyone can try trading on a demo account, as well as participate in tournaments without having a real account. With the winnings you can eventually trade binary options. You can deposit and withdraw funds through many different payment systems, and withdrawals most often take up to two to three days.
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH POCKET OPTION
Binary options broker Binarium
Broker Binarium also has a convenient trading platform and a demo account that allows you to test trading in the company.
In addition, the broker provides favorable trading conditions, various trading assets, free training and lucrative bonuses.
Withdrawing funds from a broker depends on the type of account, of which there are four types. The simplest of accounts allows you to withdraw profits once a day, and the larger the account, the more and faster you can withdraw money at a time.
Binary options broker Quotex
Broker Quotex is the youngest of the brokers presented, but despite this, it has a license from the Center for Financial Markets and allows you to trade on a convenient platform both on real accounts and on demo ones.
The broker's platform is also equipped with a variety of graphical tools and technical indicators for a more complete analysis and assessment of the situation in the markets of currency pairs and shares.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many, many ways to cheat in binary options, and each “black” broker can work differently, from small write-offs to blocking a trading account.
Therefore, in order to avoid falling for fraudulent brokers, you should always research the broker by reading reviews about it, then learn in detail about the trading conditions and trade on a demo account, and only after that make a decision about which broker you should use for long-term cooperation.
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