Forex Brokers Continue To Scam And Target Russian Nationals

Forbes recently published a report which showed that Russians account for 29 percent of the online traffic that the four largest binary options and foreign exchange (forex) trading websites received in April of 2017. Hence it is not entirely a surprise when stats show that Russian nationals have become a particularly lucrative target for forex brokers who run scams and fraudulent schemes.

The Russian market for binary trading has little to no regulatory body or oversight in this booming global market. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the Foreign Exchange Trading Law of Russia in December 2014 but that hasn’t prevented or reduced the scams and schemes operated by fake forex brokers.

These bogus binary option traders continue to target and victimize Russian investors on a regular basis.

The Russian government is aware of what is going on in this regard and has taken steps to protect its citizens. In September 2017, the Russian Central Bank blocked 400 websites, many of which were suspected of spreading malware and carrying out phishing activities for personal information. The blocked sites included forex scam companies offering financial aid to Russian clients despite being unlicensed.

The Tolyatti Police Department recently published a report on these forex scams and confirmed that these scams have increased in recent times. The authorities asked the public at large to have their guard up and watch out for forex scams. The police have also recorded an uptick in complaints from residents who have fallen victim to fraudulent companies pretending to be forex brokers.

One such Tolyatti resident was invited by the fake company to its office where he was promised high returns on his investment. During their investment opportunities presentation, the company managers used complex explanations and terms to confuse the victim and convince him to entrust more of his money to them. The fraudsters not only targeted the victims' money but were also willing to accept assets such as his apartment as part of the stake.

These fake forex operators went on to sell the victims apartment while reassuring him that thanks to forex trading, he should be able to recover the money and purchase a bigger and better apartment in no time at all. The scam was run on multiple victims and money that the scammers hoodwinked from the victims were then transferred to offshore accounts while the victims ended up losing their investments.

The Russian police are targeting such fraudulent forex websites and trading companies while continuing to educate locals about staying away from get rich schemes.

Charlie Harrison

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