Trading Group WhatsApp – Fraudsters Lure Investors
Trading group WhatsApp: There are numerous trading groups in the popular and much-used messenger WhatsApp. Users in these WhatsApp groups are offered large sums of money with the right stakes.
Due to the group dynamics that arise, many participants are quickly tempted to invest and want to become as successful and rich as other group participants claim to be. As a rule, no information is provided about the risks of loss in online trading. It is also questionable whether the success stories that make the rounds in the WhatsApp group are true.
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Fraudsters take advantage of the fact that they can remain largely anonymous in WhatsApp trading groups. They encourage users to trade in extremely speculative financial assets via the WhatsApp trading groups.
Danger through WhatsApp trading groups
So-called trading groups on Whatsapp lure investors and people interested in investments with promises of high returns, and a lifestyle that is supposed to include expensive watches, villas, yachts and luxury cars.
But the providers of these online trading platforms – which are advertised in WhatsApp groups – are usually the only winners. They deliberately and confidently create the impression that any private investor can join the professional traders and get rich quickly.
However, this does not correspond to reality. Such claims are questionable at best.
Trading group WhatsApp – scammers on the move: In numerous trading groups on WhatsApp, people report how they got rich quickly and easily. Such stories are accompanied by photos or YouTube videos of men posing in front of expensive cars, throwing money around or holding other status symbols in front of the camera.
They attribute this wealth to the absolute secret tip of a broker. Amazingly, they willingly give out the broker’s mobile phone number so that all the other group members can also benefit from his stock market tips.
How secret, exclusive and, above all, credible these investment tips can be when everyone receives them without any problems is something investors should ask themselves at this point.
Client experience with trading groups on Whatsapp
Many of our clients have fallen for the expertly produced promotional videos.
The communication with the supposed broker took place via trading groups WhatsApp. First within the trading group and finally in private chat. The brokers usually send a link to a supposedly reputable trading platform. New customers are closely instructed to create a customer account and make their first small investments.
It is never always just the one online trading platform. There are just as many dubious brokers as dubious and fraudulent websites that advertise online trading. However, not a cent of the customer’s money is traded here. Their deposits are transferred directly to accounts, mostly abroad. The investor usually notices quite late that he has been defrauded and his money has disappeared.
The fraud is perfected. Investors are presented with huge profits on the basis of falsified diagrams. Difficulties then arise when he demands payment of his money.
Our clients also experience that WhatsApp is often used in connection with romance scams and online trading scams.
Building trust to steal funds
The administrators of these WhatsApp trading groups take a very tactful approach to allay any possible suspicion. Group members are addressed in a very private and intimate setting, and the advice sounds as if it comes from close friends.
Possible risks of loss are either concealed or played down.
The focus of trading advice is on so-called CFDs, the official abbreviation for Contracts for Difference. With them, investors can bet on price fluctuations of shares, commodities and currencies.
Investors using leveraged products like CFDs have the potential for extremely high returns, but also the potential to lose everything in a single transaction.
The initiators try to get investors to make these risky investments via Whatsapp. They direct them to trading platforms or apps, with which the users can supposedly trade CFDs. In addition, new messages are sent daily with advice for the investors’ stakes.
For example, that the price of a commodity or a certain share will rise. The assumption that every single investor can participate in this and get rich quickly is fed by these WhatsApp groups. This is nothing other than fraud.
The group administrators are always one step ahead of the participants in everything. The stock prices would immediately reflect the new information. When they finally arrive at the WhatsApp group, they already have extensive expert processing behind them.
Trading group WhatsApp: total loss for investors
However, a closer look reveals another motivation for trading: consumers are encouraged to bet on either rising or falling prices. One earns money if the price develops as predicted. In official parlance, this is called a “contract for difference”.
If everything works out, these contracts can even lead to a profit. In contrast, you only pay out if you are unlucky.
Much of the advice and investment tips that circulate in trading groups on WhatsApp are either wrong or unhelpful.
Many of our clients have made a total loss through WhatsApp contacts and their advertised trading opportunities.
There may be a hint of this high risk in some of these groups, but it appears right at the beginning of the Whatsapp conversation. So anyone who joins the group later has to scroll all the way to the front to see the warning.
No protection against fraud in WhatsApp trading groups?
The group initiators initially give a good impression. They often remind users how good their tips are and at the same time send vivid graphs showing the price development. As proof, there are alleged chat transcripts with users.
Concerns about the business model of the free stock market tips are not addressed by the developers. The publicly accessible profiles and messages give the impression that money is earned by advertising certain apps and service providers.
For example, the Youtube profile reveals that the operator earns a one-time commission under certain circumstances. Besides the business concept, however, it is mostly unknown who is behind it.
There are fake websites with equally fake information about companies or people in charge. These sites sprout from the ground and disappear again just as quickly.
Dubious online trading platforms often lack a complete imprint. If one is available, it is usually fake. It is not uncommon for data of a company in Cyprus to be listed there, which, on closer investigation, comes up empty.
Contact options for customers are also often sparse. Only a support email address can usually be found there. Sometimes also a telephone number that leads to a recorded message.
WhatsApp trading group: What’s in it for the backers?
It is quite possible that the operators of the group receive a commission for recommending customers, so that their own suggestions are profitable for the group members.
Every new customer who comes through a certain link can make money for the backers. If there is any actual trading at all, one can trade there in binary options or so-called CFDs, among other things. However, all these financial products are extremely speculative and even experts can lose money with them.
Secret information allegedly traded in WhatsApp trading groups is said to have an impact on the stock market. However, the advice is completely worthless. After all, such confidential information could not be kept secret for long and the media would report on the event in question.
There can only be one true winner
Only the operators of the group profit without taking any risk. Even the users might not even notice. The exchanges use the IDs contained in the links shared via WhatsApp to identify the senders of the users (“affiliate link”).
The person who sent the link gets a cut when they eventually sign up and earn money, either for a fixed price or even a percentage of the revenue. This should be quite lucrative. Even if only half of those interested sign up, it should make a lot of money.
Advertising on YouTube or Facebook is not prohibited and is accordingly not deactivated, because “trading” and “online trading” are not a criminal offence.
In summary, the following can be said about WhatsApp trading groups: The risky thing is that in this case you can not only lose all your invested capital, but probably will. Therefore, you should refrain from interacting with these groups.
Trading Group WhatsApp – Fraud: If the case of damage has already occurred, do not hesitate to take advantage of a free initial consultation with one of our lawyers. We will check your claims for damages as well as all civil and criminal law options to recover your money.
If you have invested in or made payments to one of the companies on this list, our lawyers will be at your disposal at short notice.