Pharaoh
Brigadier General
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Where to Complain if You've Been Scammed by a Binary Options Broker?
The bad news is that binary options still exist despite being banned in so many places. The good news is that a lot of regulators are interested.
Gather your evidence and file complaints with:
1. Make your info as widely available as possible through eConsumer.gov. It's a good place to file information about any form of online scam or fraud no matter where you live or where the scammers are.
Click Here to see how to file information about scammers with eConsumer.
2. The USA's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (no matter where you are). The US went from asking US citizens to tell the about Binary Scams to asking ALL binary victims to provide evidence. This link shows how.
IC3 from the FBI
3. In the US or not, go ahead and file reports with these primary trading regulators in the USA. These links show how.
SEC - The Securities and Exchange Commission
CFTC - The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission
NFA - The National Futures Association
4. Any regulator or business registry the binary company claims to belong to.
The police and financial regulators in any country the binary broker claims to do business in.
The police and financial regulators of an country you have evidence the company is connected to. Your country's police financial regulators (if you live in one country and are a citizen of another, complain to both).
Check the table of contents for links and instructions for some of the more common places to complain. If it's not on the list, don't worry. Click Here for links to global financial regulators and Click Here for links to global police agencies.
5. 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. The Israeli Securities Authority. Why? Most binary options companies were based in Israel. After Israel finally banned binaries (link), a lot of them were "officially" moved offshore, but still had some (or most) operations hidden in Israel. Some of these scammers have fled and are wanted in Israel. Some have been ordered to cease offering binary services anywhere and could be arrested if they are caught doing it again.
The ISA - www.isa.gov.il/sites/ISAEng/CONTACT/Pages/default.aspx
7. Did the broker 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.
8. How did you deposit/pay?
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 to make your reports to the authorities even more useful.
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. Remember - if You trade and You lose Your money, You are responsible. If you have money with the broker, one of the promised services is to allow you to withdraw funds that legitimately belong to you. Refusal to process the withdrawal is a failure to provide promised services. For non-brokers, failure to deliver the promised product or to honor a refund guarantee is a valid reason. (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.
The bad news is that binary options still exist despite being banned in so many places. The good news is that a lot of regulators are interested.
Gather your evidence and file complaints with:
1. Make your info as widely available as possible through eConsumer.gov. It's a good place to file information about any form of online scam or fraud no matter where you live or where the scammers are.
Click Here to see how to file information about scammers with eConsumer.
2. The USA's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (no matter where you are). The US went from asking US citizens to tell the about Binary Scams to asking ALL binary victims to provide evidence. This link shows how.
IC3 from the FBI
3. In the US or not, go ahead and file reports with these primary trading regulators in the USA. These links show how.
SEC - The Securities and Exchange Commission
CFTC - The Commodities and Futures Trading Commission
NFA - The National Futures Association
4. Any regulator or business registry the binary company claims to belong to.
The police and financial regulators in any country the binary broker claims to do business in.
The police and financial regulators of an country you have evidence the company is connected to. Your country's police financial regulators (if you live in one country and are a citizen of another, complain to both).
Check the table of contents for links and instructions for some of the more common places to complain. If it's not on the list, don't worry. Click Here for links to global financial regulators and Click Here for links to global police agencies.
5. 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. The Israeli Securities Authority. Why? Most binary options companies were based in Israel. After Israel finally banned binaries (link), a lot of them were "officially" moved offshore, but still had some (or most) operations hidden in Israel. Some of these scammers have fled and are wanted in Israel. Some have been ordered to cease offering binary services anywhere and could be arrested if they are caught doing it again.
The ISA - www.isa.gov.il/sites/ISAEng/CONTACT/Pages/default.aspx
7. Did the broker 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.
8. How did you deposit/pay?
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 to make your reports to the authorities even more useful.
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. Remember - if You trade and You lose Your money, You are responsible. If you have money with the broker, one of the promised services is to allow you to withdraw funds that legitimately belong to you. Refusal to process the withdrawal is a failure to provide promised services. For non-brokers, failure to deliver the promised product or to honor a refund guarantee is a valid reason. (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.
