Pharaoh
Brigadier General
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Have You Been Scammed by Other Account Management Services?
Note that by Other I mean other than a Ponzi scheme or HYIP.
There are two main varieties of managed account scams. If it's a pooled investment, you typically send your cash to the account manager (AM) and hope the AM will return profits and your balance when you ask.
Then there are the AMs who trading inside your very own account. This is why the whole "investor password" feature exists in many trading platforms. Does this make you scam-proof? Absolutely not. If you want to learn more about how both investment pools and directly managed accounts can make you poor, go read my article on How Not To Lose All Your Money With A Managed Forex Account.
Sharing your live trading password with someone else takes a lot of trust. Sending your cash to another person takes more trust. You need to be sure these people have verifiable track records and are regulated.
Although the US, UK, and other countries sometimes have exemptions for pooled investment management, those exceptions typically limit the number of investors and the total amount of money. You can go check the status of a person or company's registrations in most countries. You can Click Here to learn how to check with the UK FCA and Click Here (Coming Soon) to learn how to check with the US NFA.
If your AM claims to be under regulators not covered in this book, just go to the Links to Global Financial Regulators page to find contact information to ask about registrations and to file complaints.
1. Complain to any regulator the AM claims to be under, whether listed or not and without regard to any registration being active or not.
2. No matter where you are in the world, report the scam to eConsumer.gov. They'll make the info available to regulators and police around the world.
Click Here for instructions on how to file a complaint with eConsumer.gov.
3. The FBI accepts internet fraud complaints at the IC3.gov website. Even if you aren't connected to the USA and don't know if the scammers are connected to the US or not, go ahead and report.
Click Here for filing complaints with IC3.gov.
4. Since these scams will eventually spill over to the US if they run long enough, no matter who or where you and the scammers are, let the US CFTC and SEC know. Instructions on how to file complaints are here:
CFTC - The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission
SEC - The Securities and Exchange Commission
5. If you or the scammer are connected to the US, don't forget about state level financial regulators, police, and consumer regulators. Click Here for a list of all three.
If either you or the scammer (or both) are in the USA, it's always a good idea to file a report with your state's financial regulators, consumer protection agencies, and state police. You can Click Here to look these up.
6. Did the Account Manager (or broker the AM uses) ask you to send them money for taxes or to pay taxes to some wallet or bank account somewhere? If so, there is a very large chance this is just an attempt to take more money from you. Click Here for more information and to get a list of national tax authorities from around the world.
7. How did you deposit/pay? (for pooled investment)
If crypto was involved, no matter where you are, go ahead and Click Here to file a report with the US Secret Service. You can also learn more about Tracing Crypto Transactions Yourself after they leave your wallet.
If by bankwire, ask your bank about how to file wire fraud charges. You can also file a complaint with the receiving bank and with the financial authorities in the country the receiving bank is located in.
If by credit card, call the issuing bank and ask to speak to someone in the fraud or abuse department about a chargeback. If you have money with an investment pool, one of the promised services is to allow you to withdraw funds that legitimately belong to you. Refusal to process your withdrawal is a failure to provide promised services. (Link Coming Soon- a page for DIY chargebacks)
Even if you lose a chargeback claim, the company is likely to have to pay some fee to it's bank or card processing service. The more complaints, the more risky the company will be to the bank or service. Fees the company has to pay to accept credit cards will go up and each new complaint will bring them closer to getting kicked out.
PayPal - Click Here to file a fraud complaint with PayPal. Make sure to specify that the broker is failing to permit a withdrawal per the terms or service or that the company didn't deliver the promised product or didn't honor a refund.
For other money transfer companies, check the transfer company's website for how to file fraud complaints.
Note that by Other I mean other than a Ponzi scheme or HYIP.
There are two main varieties of managed account scams. If it's a pooled investment, you typically send your cash to the account manager (AM) and hope the AM will return profits and your balance when you ask.
Then there are the AMs who trading inside your very own account. This is why the whole "investor password" feature exists in many trading platforms. Does this make you scam-proof? Absolutely not. If you want to learn more about how both investment pools and directly managed accounts can make you poor, go read my article on How Not To Lose All Your Money With A Managed Forex Account.
Sharing your live trading password with someone else takes a lot of trust. Sending your cash to another person takes more trust. You need to be sure these people have verifiable track records and are regulated.
Although the US, UK, and other countries sometimes have exemptions for pooled investment management, those exceptions typically limit the number of investors and the total amount of money. You can go check the status of a person or company's registrations in most countries. You can Click Here to learn how to check with the UK FCA and Click Here (Coming Soon) to learn how to check with the US NFA.
If your AM claims to be under regulators not covered in this book, just go to the Links to Global Financial Regulators page to find contact information to ask about registrations and to file complaints.
1. Complain to any regulator the AM claims to be under, whether listed or not and without regard to any registration being active or not.
2. No matter where you are in the world, report the scam to eConsumer.gov. They'll make the info available to regulators and police around the world.
Click Here for instructions on how to file a complaint with eConsumer.gov.
3. The FBI accepts internet fraud complaints at the IC3.gov website. Even if you aren't connected to the USA and don't know if the scammers are connected to the US or not, go ahead and report.
Click Here for filing complaints with IC3.gov.
4. Since these scams will eventually spill over to the US if they run long enough, no matter who or where you and the scammers are, let the US CFTC and SEC know. Instructions on how to file complaints are here:
CFTC - The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission
SEC - The Securities and Exchange Commission
5. If you or the scammer are connected to the US, don't forget about state level financial regulators, police, and consumer regulators. Click Here for a list of all three.
If either you or the scammer (or both) are in the USA, it's always a good idea to file a report with your state's financial regulators, consumer protection agencies, and state police. You can Click Here to look these up.
6. Did the Account Manager (or broker the AM uses) ask you to send them money for taxes or to pay taxes to some wallet or bank account somewhere? If so, there is a very large chance this is just an attempt to take more money from you. Click Here for more information and to get a list of national tax authorities from around the world.
7. How did you deposit/pay? (for pooled investment)
If crypto was involved, no matter where you are, go ahead and Click Here to file a report with the US Secret Service. You can also learn more about Tracing Crypto Transactions Yourself after they leave your wallet.
If by bankwire, ask your bank about how to file wire fraud charges. You can also file a complaint with the receiving bank and with the financial authorities in the country the receiving bank is located in.
If by credit card, call the issuing bank and ask to speak to someone in the fraud or abuse department about a chargeback. If you have money with an investment pool, one of the promised services is to allow you to withdraw funds that legitimately belong to you. Refusal to process your withdrawal is a failure to provide promised services. (Link Coming Soon- a page for DIY chargebacks)
Even if you lose a chargeback claim, the company is likely to have to pay some fee to it's bank or card processing service. The more complaints, the more risky the company will be to the bank or service. Fees the company has to pay to accept credit cards will go up and each new complaint will bring them closer to getting kicked out.
PayPal - Click Here to file a fraud complaint with PayPal. Make sure to specify that the broker is failing to permit a withdrawal per the terms or service or that the company didn't deliver the promised product or didn't honor a refund.
For other money transfer companies, check the transfer company's website for how to file fraud complaints.
