Scam Watch
With the increasing popularity of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency we are seeing an increasing number of sophisticated investment and cryptocurrency scams. To help you trade safely, please read and follow this advice:
If you’re asked to send Bitcoin or crypto for investment purposes with the promise of high returns or yield: It’s a scam. 100% of the time.
If you are getting regular SMS messages about bitcoin and cryptocurrency from an unknown source, it’s going to be a scam. Delete them and block the source.
- DO NOT send any cryptocurrency to any wallet addresses they provide you.
- DO NOT setup an account with them at all and provide them with your personal information and financial details for loading an account.
- DO NOT download any software or any files from their site whatsoever or you can end up putting at risk your security on your laptop providing a gateway for them to access your online banking and more.
The following is a current list of companies that have been published as being linked to scam activity, so we ask you to be very careful and please avoid these.
Identified scams:
- 28Crypto
- 500.trade
- ASTAK IT Consulting
- Ads Supply
- AnalystQ
- Any1Pro
- Arbistar
- AussieTrust
- Bitcoin Revolution
- Busstrade
- CTX Prime
- CanaMedic
- Click2Sell
- Coin-bits
- FairBit
- Finalmente
- FxPro
- GT Stox
- GTLOT
- getxrp.fund
- Go365
- Golden Sky Capital
- GoldmanBlock
- Grandefex
- ICMG
- Immediate Edge
- InvestXE
- Jacque Yves Nuar CO (JYNCFX)
- Libra markets
- MTI Club
- Markets Pilot
- Merkell Group
- Mirollex
- Oasis Trading
- Olympia Markets
- Profits Trade
- ProuFX
- R24
- StarCapital
- StocksCM
- The Investment Center
- Trade99
- TradeInvicta
- USI Tech
- Universal Markets
- Ventera Group
- WDC Markets
- Walton Chase
- World Markets
- Worldtradecenter.io
Common traits of scammers
- They are based in an overseas country (but not always).
- They ask for Bitcoin or cryptocurrency to be sent to wallet addresses they provide.
- They tell you that they have special trading systems that generate high yields proprietary only to them.
- They may say that they are going to use DCEP for trading (China's digital currency).
- They may request for personal documents to be sent to them or uploaded to an account.
- They will often start with asking you for small amounts and then request for you to invest or fund in more increasing larger amounts.
- They will often show you an account you may start with them or other persons accounts with allocation of interest and funds increasing.
- They will limit you capacity to potentially withdraw any funds or transfer out digital currency assets.
- They offer compounding interest paid in their own cryptocurrency for locking or stacking after investing with them.
- They pay out a commission on you referring others to invest with them.
- You may receive regular phone calls pressuring you to invest more.
- They may say they are endorsed by a celebrity.
- Seems too good to be true. (Then it is).
The Ponzi
A Ponzi scheme is where the promoter promises investors a regular financial return on any money, they put into the scheme personally and then additional financial rewards for referring others to invest in the scheme based on a percentage of their investment and even earnings.
In most cases the promoter will say that the financial returns being generated is from their investment or trading activities. They have even promoted that they have invested in many different businesses returning them income monthly, have invested in cryptocurrency mining activities, have proprietary trading systems that give them an advantage for trading.
In a Ponzi scheme the promoter will also incentivize individuals to reinvest any financial returns that they are paid with a view to them compounding their investment and earning more income. In most cases they will limit any withdrawals for a period of time and this could be months to support the compounding concept.
Withdrawal of the original investment and subsequent earnings is often more difficult and real ability to cash out via a legally registered cryptocurrency exchange may not even be provided at all.
Unfortunately, in reality the money that is being used to pay the returns is often coming from the new entrants into the scheme and no real investment exists. The Ponzi scheme eventually collapses when the original promoter walks away with all the money.
If you are reading this list and have experienced such suspicious activity and the company is not listed, please let us know and we can help do some further investigation and help provide you with additional information for you to make an informed decision to continue with them or not.
Experienced any of the above?
Even if you are not certain about being exposed to any of the above please email us at [email protected] ASAP, and we can work through it with you.