Trading online can be one of the most rewarding and interesting experiences. There is nothing more satisfy than studying markets and using these trends to make money from the comfort of your own home.
However, like most things in life, successful trading requires hard work and dedication. Traders should not be under the illusion that it is a quick path to endless riches. They should also be wary of brokers and systems which offer this.
These broker scammers play on a traders emotion and trick them into investing. Before investing with these brokers you should do proper due diligence of the service on offer and make certain that you are comfortable with the offer presented by the broker. You can learn to identify broker scams and reduce your chances of falling victim to one.
However, there is a chance that this has happened to you and your money is now tied up by the broker. Although this is less than ideal, there is a reasonable chance of you recouping your funds or getting some sort of retribution from the scam broker.
In this post, we will go through the steps that you can take to increase your chances of winning a dispute with the broker.
Key Steps to Take
Although there is still the possibility that these steps may not recover you the money invested, they go a long way to helping fellow traders and inflicting harm on the scam broker. Scam brokers operate on the hope that traders will eventually give up and stop bothering them. This is where you have to persist.
Save all Documentation
Before you can start taking the broker to task, you have to take the time to gather all of the documentation and correspondence that you have had with the broker. This includes all of the emails, Skype conversations and other instant messaging platforms. You should also gather all of the payment documents like bank statements and broker terms and conditions. Also print a copy of the terms and conditions on the broker’s website and keep it safe.
Ask for your Funds back
Assuming that the promises that the broker made were mereley false, then you should ask the broker to withdraw your funds. There are usually only two situations in which the broker can legally refuse this. Firstly, the broker would require some proof of identity and residency. These are standard protocols to avoid money laundering. You could also have elected to avail a signing bonus. Although these seem like a good idea at the time, they can be used by the broker to keep you from withdrawing until a certain minimum volume has been traded.
If, however, the broker has no reason to process the withdrawal, but is still making excuses, then you know he may be a dishonest broker. It is at this stage that you should tell the broker that you are considering more drastic action should he still refuse to allow a withdrawal.
Let others Know
The Binary Options industry operates on trust. Traders really value the opinion given by others when it comes to their experiences. Similarly, the broker knows that negative reviews online can harm his business. You should tell the broker that you are about to post negative reviews on a number of forums.
If there is still no response from the broker, then post on as many forums as you can. Use the documents that you collected above as proof that the broker has scammed you. If this is a popular forum then there is the chance that it could be easy to reach for alot of people who do Google searches. You could also use trader member communities like forex trading clubs and influencers in the industry.
Contact the Bank
The most important avenue for the Binary Options Scammer is cutting off his means of receiving funds. This means that you should contact your bank or their payment provider. Assuming that you paid with a credit card, then you can tell your bank to process a charge back request. There are usually a number of things that you should do before you can request this such as proof of payments etc. This also needs to be done within the 180 day window period.
If that fails, then you can always reach out to their payment providers. Brokers need this provider in order to facilitate payment from clients. There have been instances where payment providers have forced the broker to reimburse the client.
Save all Documentation.
If by this stage you still have had no luck in getting your money back from the broker, then you should reach out to the regulatory authorities that oversee the broker. This information is usually placed on the broker’s website or in their terms or conditions.
If you are in Europe then the broker is most likely regulated by CySec. Many of the regulators now have dedicated broker fraud divisions. You can tell the broker that you are about to report them. Many brokers value this regulation and also face the threat of a large fine should they cheat people.
Sometimes, the broker will attempt to hide behind a bunch of shell companies in offshore jurisdictions and obfuscate where they are regulated. What you should try and do in this case is see the name of the legal entity to which you paid on the bank statements. It would then help to see who the beneficial owners were and where they were regulated.
Don’t give up
As mentioned, a lot of these brokers rely on the fact that clients eventually choose to give up and don’t chase after them. This is essentially a game of attrition and the one who can hold out is the one that will eventually come out on top. This is why it is essential that you are persistent and keep fighting the just fight. Reach out to authorities in the community and let them know of your experience.
