Not really, in gambling you actually have a chance of winning and seeing your winnings in your hand. With this crap you put money in and you never see it again...even if you "win". What gets me is how many people are willing to send cash somewhere or "invest" in something without doing any personal research first. Personally I am a researcher and a skeptic by nature. I spent days researching and contemplating the best brand and model of dishwasher to buy when my last one stopped working...and that was just a dishwasher from a local store. There would be no way on this planet that I would send large amounts of cash to a foreign company for any reason without crawling up their rectum with a microscope first to look for any semblance of dishonesty or impropriety. Even then I doubt I would send money to a foreign company directly. If you do get ripped off and they are in a different country, you have practically zero recourse. Still a simple yahoo/google search about Binary Options should reveal that they are a scam to anyone with the foresight to look before "investing".
Our site uses cookies. By continuing to use our site you are agreeing to our cookies policy. ACCEPT AND CLOSE Accessibility Links Skip to content sunday september 18 2016 Search The Times and The Sunday Times Business INSIDE STORY He wins, you lose in binary casino Danny Fortson September 18 2016, 12:01am, The Sunday Times Elijah Oyefeso signs up clients for a £107 a month fee to receive ‘signals’ from him about their investments in binary options tradingPHIL YEOMANS Share Save The smell of fried chicken filled the air as Elijah Oyefeso, a 22-year-old millionaire, star trader and social media sensation, opened his front door. Oyefeso had agreed to an interview with The Sunday Times yet appeared surprised by the visit, clad as he was in only a shirt and a snug-fitting pair of boxer shorts. “Come in, come in. Give me a second,” he said, before disappearing to eat and locate a pair trousers. I had come to meet this tycoon who, if his Twitter and Instagram feeds are to be believed, leads a fabulous life. One highly produced YouTube clip shows Oyefeso giving his mother a £230,000 Rolls-Royce Wraith. In another he gives a tour, styled on MTV’s Cribs, of his six-bedroom house in Chilworth, a moneyed village near Southampton. His story is irresistible: a teenager who grew up on a south London council estate and turned his student loan into a fortune. Oyefeso, by then fully clothed, claimed he now pulls in between £60,000 and £90,000 a month trading on tiny moves in currencies, stocks and commodities. “Not boasting, but I think I opened the gate for people to start trading,” he said. “For someone to see me doing it and making money out of it, it motivates them.” Oyefeso is a sparkly lure into a shadowy world: binary options trading. The industry’s biggest companies sponsor Premier League football clubs and have celebrity endorsers such as Boris Becker. Yet many of the tens of thousands of Britons lured in with promises of instant riches end up with nothing or, worse, in debt. City of London police said fraud complaints against binary companies had spiked “dramatically” in recent months. The average loss: £20,000. “It is the latest and perhaps fastest-growing iteration of investment fraud,” said Andy Fyfe, the force’s financial crimes specialist. “These companies are luring a much younger audience of would-be investors because they are advertised on social media, like Instagram. We’ve never seen that before.” In the three months to September, the Action Fraud reporting centre received 245 fraud complaints about binary options trading, more than in all of 2014. Oyefeso, who is not accused of wrongdoing, is an adept recruiter. His flashy lifestyle serves as a perfect advertisement for those hoping to make a quick buck with binary trades, which are simple all-or-nothing bets on currency and stock movements. Via his company Dream Comes True (DCT) Trading, a feeder portal for the big operators, Oyefeso reckons he has personally coaxed up to 7,000 people to sign up. Barely credible success stories such as his are the first link in a global chain. The industry is centred in Israel but many companies register in Cyprus, an EU member, because it provides a “passport” to operate across Europe. Crucially, they are regulated only by the island’s financial watchdog, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, not the authorities of the countries where they operate. This set-up means much of the sector resides in the blind spots of international financial regulation. Some countries have already begun to put up the shutters. Watchdogs in America and France banned Banc De Binary and 24Option respectively, two of the industry’s largest companies, this year. Australia and Canada have issued warnings about the industry. In Britain, one of the most lucrative markets, these companies operate unfettered. Dozens offer trading but only seven, which have “key equipment” such as servers on British soil, are overseen by the Gambling Commission. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate any. Binary options are alluring in part because of their simplicity. It works like this. Sign up online to use a provider’s online trading platform and within minutes you will receive a call from a pushy salesman. Typically, companies require a minimum deposit of $250 (£190). Once you have signed up, you are passed to a “broker” who will advise you on what to invest in and when. These “investments” are always the same: simple bets that the value of a currency, such as the US dollar against the pound, or of a stock such as Apple, will rise or fall within a certain timeframe. This can be as little as 30 seconds or as long as a few days. Bet right and you win between 30% and 80% of your wager. If you are wrong, you lose 100%. Generally, people are guided through the process by brokers, who are described as markets experts but need no financial qualifications. They are trained, however, in aggressive sales tactics. Nick Dunsford knows how easy it is to get sucked in. The 50-year-old, who asked that his name be changed for this article, was getting by doing contract work after being made redundant by his local water company. He had been thinking about getting into trading for months. One night last year, he clicked on a link that took him to Banc De Binary. His goal was simple. “I was quite happy to play with £1,000. I thought, if this works and I can make my money work a bit better for me, I can have a nicer life,” he said. “It was the biggest mistake of my life.” Over the course of a year, Dunsford lost £76,000 — most of his life savings. How? His first trades worked. He started to make money. As his balance grew his broker needled him to put in more. “He said, ‘You can only make real money if you put more in,’ ” said Dunsford. It appeared to be working. Banc De Binary even offered a “bonus” of several thousand pounds to bolster his account. These companies lure younger would-be investors by advertising on social media. We’ve never seen that beforeAndy Fyfe, financial crimes specialist Bonuses are a key part of the industry and, critics say, are particularly dangerous. Brokers are quick to offer them and many clients accept: it’s free money. But in the fine print lies the catch. In Dunsford’s case, when he accepted the cash, he had unwittingly agreed to a harsh condition. He could take his money out only after he had traded the total balance — his cash plus the bonus — 20 times over. It is a standard tactic. Say a client has £1,000 in their account and accepts a £1,000 bonus. They must then do trades worth £20,000 before they can make a withdrawal. Often clients lose everything trying to hit the threshold. If they try to take money out before, they receive a fraction of the balance. “Every company offers bonuses,” said Oyefeso. “People don’t realise what it means until after. That’s why people think it’s a scam.” Dunsford’s trades began to sour. He threatened to pull out what little money he had left. “Every time, my broker gently talked me out of it. They were very, very good at that.” After a last disastrous trading round, he started chargeback proceedings with his credit card company. Banc De Binary, which had been offering him fresh bonuses to trade out of the hole, went silent. “Every trade I made was 100% on their recommendation,” Dunsford said. “This money is everything to me. When I think about it, it takes me deep. I have been to the doctor about it.” Banc De Binary declined to comment. As it is not regulated here, it is unclear what infractions it could be accused of making. Dunsford has reported the company to Action Fraud, as have two other people who spoke to The Sunday Times. Between them, they have lost more than £125,000. They are the tip of the iceberg. Gabriele Giambrone, a London lawyer, says he has case files of more than 3,000 individuals who claim they have been defrauded by binary companies. He said: “This is a small fraction represented by a small firm. Who knows what the true scale is?” Fyfe of City of London police is not surprised. “I would never criticise someone falling victim. We must not underestimate how good these people are as salespeople. Their skills are phenomenal,” he said. Twelve days ago Banc De Binary, with its roster of 250,000 clients in 80 countries, was unveiled as a sponsor of Southampton FC. The Premier League outfit said the tie-up was a natural fit because Banc De Binary’s “values are very much aligned with those we have at the football club”. The deal came just six months after Banc De Binary and its founder, Oren Laurent, agreed to a US ban and an $11m fine to settle charges that it illegally solicited business. Neither the company nor Laurent admitted wrongdoing. After The Sunday Times raised the issues of the fine and aggrieved British clients, Southampton FC ended its partnership with Banc De Binary on Friday, removing a sponsorship press release from its website. Which brings us back to Oyefeso. Banc De Binary is one of two companies to which his site sends recruits. The other is 24Option, which last year signed up tennis star Boris Becker as a celebrity endorser and has more than 100,000 global customers. Last month it was banned by France’s regulator, the AMF, for failing to act in “an honest and fair manner in the best interest of its clients”. The company, which is owned by a private firm based in Cyprus, called Rodeler, presents itself as a neutral trading platform whose army of brokers help its clients make money. The company told The Sunday Times via email that it does not benefit when traders lose. In a gambling analogy, it is not the “house”. That function is served, the company said, by Richfield Capital, an investment company registered in Belize. Yet in the fine print of 24Option’s website, it states that Rodeler “belongs to the same group of companies with Richfield Capital”. In other words, 24Option, Rodeler and Richfield are all one and the same. If traders lose, they ultimately win. Against those odds, how to explain Oyefeso’s run of what he says is more than 36 consecutive months of profitable trading? He may simply be a gifted trader. In our interview, however, he revealed that much of his riches come not from his analytical prowess but from the fees he collects from people who sign up — at £107 a month — to receive trading “signals” from the man himself. Even if only a small fraction of his 100,000 followers on Instagram and Snapchat buy into the dream, it’s a nice little earner. “Yeah,” Oyefeso said with a thin smile. “It’s not bad.” Share Save Comments are subject to our community guidelines, which can be viewed here. 2 comments + Follow Post comment PREVIOUS ARTICLE Guinness owner to slash jobs at HQ Previous article NEXT ARTICLE Hammond needs to help us get our mojo back Next article BACK TO TOP GET IN TOUCH Contact us Help The Times Editorial Complaints The Sunday Times Editorial Complaints Place an announcement Classified advertising Display advertising The Times corrections The Sunday Times corrections MORE FROM THE TIMES AND THE SUNDAY TIMES The Times e-paper The Sunday Times e-paper Times Currency Services The Sunday Times Wine Club Encounters Dating Red Box Times Print Gallery The Times Archive Times Crossword Club Sunday Times Driving Times+ The Sunday Times Rich List Insider City Guides Good University Guide Parent Power © Times Newspapers Limited 2016. 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Betting scam where staff are ordered to 'rape clients out of their cash' has cheated OAPs out of millions and led to some victims committing suicide British police say call centres in Israel are behind the hard-sell tactics Some victims have lost up to £200,000 by investing in 'rubbish' stocks FCA says most consumers have 'lost substantial sums of money' By SEAN POULTER and MELANIE NEWMAN FOR THE DAILY MAIL PUBLISHED: 23:13, 20 September 2016 | UPDATED: 23:17, 20 September 2016 e-mail 29shares 6 View comments Thousands of Britons – including many pensioners – have lost millions of pounds in a secret fraud known as binary options investments. British police receive an average of two such fraud reports a day and victims have lost up to £200,000. Insiders at one call centre behind the scam revealed staff were ordered to ‘rape clients’ of their cash. MY WEDDING FUND WAS RAIDED AFTER TRADER'S CALL Stephen Taylor, with partner Kim Lorry driver Stephen Taylor, pictured with partner Kim, lost cash saved for their wedding. ‘Binary options sounded like a good idea. It wasn’t,’ he said. Mr Taylor, 59, had received a cold call from an Inside Option trader. His first investment was £200 followed by £800. He then got a call from AA Option, a subsidiary of a company registered in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Mr Taylor, from the Scottish Highlands, said: ‘I gave him my debit card details but told him I only wanted a very small amount taken out.’ Then his bank’s fraud detection team told him his account had been emptied of £2,400. The Bank of Scotland eventually returned the cash. Mr Taylor decided to withdraw the £1,000 placed with Inside Option. Initially, it refused but after months of emailing, Inside Option paid back the sum. AA Option and Inside Option did not respond to requests for a comment. And some brokers involved have swapped tales of people committing suicide after realising they have been duped. Companies lure victims by scam emails, with high-pressure salesmen persuading responders to invest small sums such as £250. A second team then lean on these investors to put in thousands more. Meanwhile further thousands are charged to their credit cards without authorisation. The schemes are regulated or banned in the US, Israel and Belgium, and other nations are looking at following suit. But the British government has, so far, refused to take action. Binary option investments involve betting on whether financial assets, such as shares, currencies or commodities, will rise or fall over a time period. Schemes are presented as regulated investments, a better option than leaving cash in a savings account or pension. Pensioners are not the only targets, with a rising number of young adults duped by bogus ‘get-rich-quick’ promises. Investors who try to access winnings hit a brick wall. The scandal has been revealed in a joint investigation by the Daily Mail and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. The Bureau received leaked files detailing hundreds of UK victims and how much they lost. One investor had put in £200,000 and many lost tens of thousands. The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau’s head of crime, Det Chief Insp Andy Fyfe, said the sale of binary options by some off-shore operators is now the biggest fraud in the UK. An average investor lost £16,000, but this was just the ‘tip of the iceberg’. He warned: ‘People have been persuaded to cash in some of their pensions and invest in rubbish. The vast majority of the non-UK based binary firms are operating from Israel. Many are also registered in Cyprus’ Once registered in a EU country they are, in theory, allowed to target Britons and others. A legal loophole means there is no effective regulation. City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority wants to regulate the sector, but the Treasury and Government have failed to act. An FCA spokesman warned: ‘Most consumers describe having lost substantial sums of money. +1 The binary options firms promise excellent returns to customers by betting on stocks 'While this might be expected given the high-risk, win-or-lose nature of the activity, we are particularly concerned about the experiences many consumers report to us when trying to deal with unauthorised or unlicensed binary options firms. ‘We regularly hear about such firms suddenly closing consumers’ trading accounts, refusing to pay back their funds and ceasing any further contact.’ In theory, binary option investments are policed by the Gambling Commission, but it only covers firms registered in the UK. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next A scam victim every 15 seconds in the UK as financial fraud...'This was my pension. It was supposed to be our nest-egg':...Watch out for crooks if you complain on Twitter: Criminals...Young couple ran up a £150 bill dining on steak, wine and... SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share 29 shares One binary options firm called Inside Option left a UK family unable to access their £80,000 investment said to have grown to £500,000. On its website, Inside Option states it is owned by ‘The Masters Association’, a firm based in St Vincent and the Grenadines. In fact, the company operates from a call centre in Israel. InsideOption.com’s domain is registered to Emir Yedibaslar, a Turkish businessman who has used Facebook to recruit traders for firms including Inside Option. He denied any connection with it. He said he is involved in many businesses, including registering and selling domain names, one of which was Inside Option. But he added: ‘I have not worked there never in my life.’ Inside Option did not respond to requests for a comment. 'WOLVES' PREY ON THE VULNERABLE A ‘greed is good’ culture permeates binary options sales centres, often based in Tel Aviv or Bucharest, Romania. There are three stages to the scam. Generating new leads Companies circulate spam emails daily to millions of people globally. They evade anti-spam laws by routing traffic through countries with no regulation. The emails contain links to videos of individuals who have supposedly made fortunes by trading in binary options. Those that respond are put on the target lists which generate a new lead every 30 seconds. An insider told us some firms spend millions a month buying ‘mug lists’ of potential targets. Hard sell Salesmen operate out of call centres where the insider said there was ‘loud music, cocaine on the tables, video games, free booze, crates of whisky’. The traders work until 4am to call European and American targets. They have to ‘convert’ a least one lead per day. Converting is persuading the punter to make that first investment of £250 or £500 and the sellers get a 45 per cent commission. Retention A separate group of more experienced and ruthless sellers then target the people who have made a first investment. These ‘wolves’ pressure them to put in thousands. In some companies, these traders are expected to bring in $100,000 by the end of the month or be sacked. Most of the real fraud takes place in the last ten days of the month, because traders have to meet their bonus targets. The scam involves charging thousands to credit cards without authorisation. Successful salesmen are rewarded with invites to sex parties with strippers, prostitutes and drugs. The insider said: ‘I was never able to look at anyone in that office the same way again’. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...victims-committing-suicide.html#ixzz4KreYVZTO Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Day trading is a losers game , there is not enoughtime for set ups to materialize duyring the day and trend for profitability.Day trading is choppy and mixed and forex rarely trends (see most daily charts ).Even trend traders lose in intraday trading and many trend trading hedge funds closed down. Bucket shop Brokers invented the binary options and offer it mainly for day trading , because most day traders lose and the brokers win from the losers .As we explained earlier, day-trading is one of the dumbest jobs there is: According to one academic study, 4 out of 5 people who do it lose money and only 1 in 100 do it well enough to be described as "predictably profitable." many uk companies offer it because they know about day trading odds
Scams, unfortunately, are happening everywhere at all times. Take the UK, for example - according to the Financial Fraud Action UK organization, a scam is perpetrated in the country every 15 seconds. Between January and June 2016 there have been 1 million such incidents and those are only the reported ones. https://smnweekly.com/2016/09/20/financial-scam-committed-every-15-seconds-uk-watchdog/
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel...e-fraud-report 'Preying on innocent people is an unscrupulous practice', Netanyahu's office says of binary option industry Israel has called for a worldwide ban on binary options trading after a series of investigative reports by the Times of Israel uncovered massive fraud in the shady industry centered in Israel. A series of reports by the paper exposed fraudulant practices of the nearly billion-dollar industry, which involves sham investment firms duping unwitting victims into making risky short-term investments, sometimes on rigged trading platforms, with the majority of clients losing their money. In a statement addressed to the Times of Israel, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the "unscrupulous" practice, noting that the Israel Securities Authority (ISA) has already outlawed such firms from targeting Israeli citizens. "Preying on innocent people who are not aware of the risks they are taking is an unscrupulous practice," the statement said, especially in light of the common practice of firms deliberately misrepresenting their trade to clients. "When somebody goes into a casino, he knows that he is gambling. But all too often, innocent people lose their savings when they are lured into offers to trade in binary options, pitched to them over the telephone, without being informed of the financial risks to which they are being exposed," the statement said, according to the Times of Israel. Indeed, while the ISA has barred the sale of binary options to Israelis, it hosts a lucrative industry of over 100 binary options firms that target citizens in countries which have yet to ban the practice. The United States, Canada, and France are among several countries that have opened probes into the pracice on behalf of citizens who have fallen prey to Israel-based binary options fraud, the Times of Israel reported. The statement to the paper said that while Israeli authorities "have no control over what occurs in other countries," they hoped other nations "will follow in our footsteps and make binary trading illegal." Head of the ISA, Shmuel Hauser, last week requested authority from the Israel Attorney General to shut down the industry altogether by making it illegal for Israeli firms to solicit clients in any country, the Times of Israelreported, calling the practice "an ugly phenomenon that harms innocent people and unfortunately fans the flames of negative perceptions of Israelis and Jews." Belgium in August became the first European country to ban the binary options industry, while the US has banned overseas firsm from targeting its citizens. (Staff with agencies)
Excellent coverage of binary options at the times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/search/?q=Binary+options&submit
The Manitoba Securities Commission (MSC) released alarming data. According to the regulator’s publication, only in the first four months of 2017, the number of complaints against binary options brokers was 17. One of the complainants reported to have lost CAD 130 000 to an offshore binary options company. Another was defrauded out of CAD 300 000.