The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), which oversees the financial market in Belgium, flagged 38 online trading platforms that are offering services in the country.
Some of these names are Apex500, Brokeragea, Calliber, Cryptosaving, EJMarkets, Europa Trade Capital, Euro Trade and many more. None of them are known industry names and illegally offer services in the country.
The long list of the three-dozen flagged names was released by the regulator after it had received consumer complaints over the last few weeks.
“These trading platforms try to arouse consumers’ curiosity by placing scam ads on social media,” the FSMA highlighted. They often try to hook the potential victims with get-rich-quick schemes.
Additionally, the regulator detailed that these platforms often use mobile applications to lure victims, often targeting them with virtual currency or training courses.
“After clicking on the ad or downloading the mobile app and having given their contact details, the victims are usually swiftly called by fraudsters presenting a concrete investment proposal,” the Belgian watchdog detailed.
Moreover, these platforms try to trap victims using aggressive sale tactics. They even persuade victims to take control of their computers remotely to complete monetary transactions and try to convince victims to invest higher sums.
“They also make promises of repayment in exchange for one last money transfer. This is a technique to collect even more money from their victims,” the regulator added.
Victims of these 'investment frauds' often fail to recover their deposits, and the platforms cut communication channels.
Too Many Regulations Is the Cause?
Belgium is one of the few countries that completely ban retail trading with forex and contracts for differences (CFDs) instruments. While this keeps the legitimate platforms away, it gives fraudsters a perfect ground to target anxious investors.
Meanwhile, the FSMA remains vigilant against fraud related to investment platforms and is frequently issuing warnings. The regulator even mandated the registration of all cryptocurrency companies operating in the country.
