Forex Trading Invesment (Warning: Almost certainly a scam)

[Zybomb]

Not sure if you'd prefer to have this in the SPAM section instead of General...if so feel free to move....

Recently I have made an investment in a company trading on the foreign exchange market. I was put on by a friend who was just starting, and whose uncle had been doing it for 2 years and was making very good returns each month.

All investments are 6 month investments. You can take out your profits each month, but you can not remove your initial investment for 6 months. At the end of each month you have the option of reinvesting your profits or pulling them out

Investments can be made as little as $100. there are 4 investment categories

I: $100- 3999
II: $4000-$19,999
III: $20,000-$49,999
IV:$50,000+

Depending on your category, your estimated monthly returns vary. The company offers a maximum return of

I: 10%
II 14%
III 16%
IV 20%

If you agree to automatically reinvest your profits for 6 months, each level is bumped up 1% (11%, 15%, 17%, 21%) but you can't pull any profits or your initial investment out for 6 months.

So for example if you have $5000 invested and the company achieves maximum returns for the month you'd make $700 that month (14% of $5000). At the end of the month you could pull the $700 out or reinvest it (or half and half or whatever). This initial $5000 would have to remain in until the 6 months completed.

These maximum returns are not achieved every month, but thus far this year based on the records that I've seen the lowest month has been 11.48% out of a max 14% on category II with no negative months for the entire year. That means the worst months returns on a $5k investment have been $574

I can technically only personally vouch for the two months that I have been involved (13.2% last month and 11.48% in Sept ... the other months Ive read in the news archives of the site, and also been told through my friends uncle that they all were positive)

FAQ

I: How much do you have invested in this?

I invested $5000 although my account now has more bc of my monthly reinvestments

II: Are you just being nice bringing this opportunity to us or is there something in it for you?

Like everything, there's a little something for me. You'd sign up through my affiliate link, and I receive 5% of your monthly profits (not taking away from yours, in addition to). Meaning if you make $500 I'd make $25...not much but with enough people that adds up. The more people I put on and the more money they invest lets me open up more levels which lets me make money off of your referrals and furthermore. On the website you can look at the entire model.

III: Why is the company just giving people money, what's in it for them?

Obviously they are making more money with your investment each month than they are giving to you. Thus they are making money with your money

IV: If that's the case why use this company? Why can't I invest myself and keep all of the profits?

You certainly can.... but me personally I have no idea what Im doing or where to invest. They appear to.

V: Are there any downsides?

Getting money in and out takes a little while -- 15-20 days, because deposits are done from your bank to a third party bank to the company (and the opposite for withdrawals). My friends uncle transfered money into my account for me so it took only a day, but obviously that won't be possible for him to do for everyone I sign up through. Also around the first of the month the website is extremely slow because there are a lot of people on it reinvesting their balances.

VI: The stock market is not doing well...is this safe?

This is completely separate from the stock market and concerns trading of foreign currencies.

VII: Where is the headquarters of this company?

Panama. It has just recently expanded to the United States and is also available throughout Europe and South America. The website is defaulted to Spanish, but is available in French English Dutch, Italian and Portuguese as well.


I can only tell everyone that the results that Ive seen have been solid. In 6 months you can roughly double a 5k investment if you reinvest the profits each month and pull everything after 6 months (without any extra money from referring people etc) While of course this isn't guaranteed, I have seen the kind of money that my friends uncle is making and I was confident enough to throw $5000 in this....and Ive received returns of 11.48% and 13.2% (out of a possible 14% max) in the first two months that I've been involved.

For some of you ballers with bankrolls (TP, JD, Wes, SJay, Mayhem etc) or anyone else even interested in a small investment (minimum is only $100) I think this is a solid investment opportunity. Like I said, Im not guaranteeing anything (dont put in money u cant afford to lose blah blah blah), all I can say is that I have $5k invested personally, and I can tell you the results that I've seen thus far and the results that Ive been told by my friends cousin. If I didn't believe in this I wouldnt bring it up.

Anyone interested please respond here or PM if you'd rather and I'll get you a link and more information. I just wrote all this up myself now, so I may have left out stuff....any questions lemme know

[JDMcNugent7]

I would be willing to do a pretty big, like 20k investment, if somehow i could avoid the 15-20 day thing.

I could ship u the $ on FTP or stars and u act like it's your own investment or something so your uncle does it in a day. Then you pay me back through ftp.

Also, we should combine $ so our inital investment is bigger and we could get a higher return.

[thrash1294]

link please

[Akverno]

A couple of links I thought of when reading through the description.

[Zybomb]

Ill talk to my friend and have him talk to uncle tomorrow and see if this is cool. I'll let you know tomorrow and give the rest of the info

[Zybomb]

I kinda had a feelin there'd be at least 1 response along this nature.

Like I stated Im not guaranteeing anything to anyone, but I was trusting in my friend's uncle enough to put $5000 into this company and I purposely waited 2 months before bringing it up to anyone , specifically so I could see actual returns firsthand before mentioning it to anyone else

I obviously cant guarantee results to anyone, I can just say what I've been told by my friend's uncle, what Ive seen thus far myself personally and what I have personally invested.... with that said, if you or anyone has any doubts, dont invest. If its money you cant afford to lose or whatever, also dont invest

[sjay2k]

This is a scam.

If these guys are actually geniuses who can provide such amazing returns, do you really think they would engage in such amateurish business practices? Would someone making such ridiculous amounts of money really solicit $100 investments and run a rickety website in Panama that can't support its own clients' traffic? The "category" system they have created is bizarre, and shows just how small-time these guys are.

Forex trading is extremely speculative and high variance. The idea that you are peddling -- that forex trading can return consistent double-digit monthly returns -- is absurd.

The difficulties in getting money in or out is another giant red flag. I suspect that your friend's uncle was happy to do the transfer because he realised it's the only way he can actually get some of his cash back.

The fact that you didn't post the company's name and website is also extremely suspicious.

[sjay2k]

Sounds a lot like this:

"WinCapita, previously WinClub, was an Internet-based investment club, advertising that it was engaged in currency trading....During the investigation the Finnish police have not found any evidence of the advertised currency trading; the operation was allegedly a forex scam scheme.... The company itself was registered in Panama"

[sjay2k]

I found the company's name: Finanzas Forex. The Spanish financial regulatory CNMV issued a public warning about the company, stating that it did not have a licence to trade forex. A few highlights:

-FINANZASFOREX is the commercial name of the company EVOLUTION MARKET GROUP INC, incorporated and with its official address in Panama with the Spaniard GERMAN CARDONA as Chairman.

- The activity of this company consists of the offering of investments in the Forex market, guaranteeing a profitability ranging from 10 to 21 per cent.

- The company offers the possibility of becoming promoters to investors. This means that by becoming a promoter, they become customer’s recruiters and are offered an accumulative percentage of the amounts deposited by the recruited clients up to the seventh step, plus a series of bonuses including luxury cars and financial grants for an amount of 60.000 euro for the acquisition of housing for this activity. This is why, investors/promoters are keen on finding new ones.

- The Comisión Nacional de Valores of Panama has already issued a warning against this company for carrying out restricted activities from Panama without having obtained the required licence.

- The company has been carried out its activity not only in Spain but also all around the world. The company’s web page is in the following languages: Spanish, English, French, Italian, German and Portuguese.

- According to information disclosed by staff linked to the company, on 15th March 2008, the number of clients recruited by the company in the countries where the company performs business activity has added up to 18,720 clients and the amount collected up to 121,154,519 $. The company presents an increase of 600 clients and 2 million $ a day.

- Regarding the cash flow, clients must transfer their deposits to the American company CROWNE GOLD, which pools all cash entries. Once a week, the amount received is sent to an account held at the alleged Swiss broker DUKASCOPY (Suisse), S.A.

-The number of promoters all around the World is unpredictable due to the extremely high number of clients.

- Up till now the number of promoters performing activities in Spain is unknown, however, the CNMV knows that there are several promoters operating in the areas of Barcelona, Madrid and Basque Country, having recruited, only in the area of Baracaldo, more than 100 clients.

- SANTIAGO FUENTES JOVER is the most active promoter in Spain, this individual has his own web page, , where he explains, among other issues, that FINANZASFOREX is in the process of regularising its status before the CNMV since it has started the formalities to obtain the status of “Casa de Bolsa” (investment firm), qualifying this fact as a good news to enhance investors’ confidence.

- According to the information available to the CNMV, SANTIAGO FUENTES JOVER has been involved, since 2002, in different business activities performed through the Internet (communication systems, bets, games, etc) that have produced important losses to clients."

[Talking Poker]

I am really surprised you got involved in this Zybomb. This screams SCAM, and that's without me even doing any further research like sjay did. It's just one red flag after another. I mean - it just doesn't make any sense. Try thinking about this from the other side (from the business side) and see if it makes any sense at all. This is not a business model for a legit company. It's a business model for a scam organization.

JD - Do yourself a favor... if you are seriously considering throwing $20k at this, give it to me instead. Then in 6 months, I'll send you $10k back instead of $0, and it will only be a $10k lesson learned, instead of $20k.

Zy - please try to get your money out. I suspect you won't be able to get anything, but if you can get your $5k out (with or without that "return" you are claiming to have received (I suspect it's only on paper and not actually money in your hands)), do it.

[MAYHEM45]

Hey Zybomb, if another one of your friends tries to recruit you for ACN, dont fall for that too.

[Zybomb]

Ok sorry I brought it up. Please disregard/delete whatever...

FYI, I purposely withdrew the first months profits rather than reinvest them and received them (albeit it took time). I also waited two months to bring this up for a reason.

But yea, disregard delete whatever

[Talking Poker]

Disregarding is good, but I see no reason to delete. IT serves as a warning for others.

Also, please post after you try to actually get your $5k back and let us know how that goes. Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones.

[Zybomb]

Sure...

As a last point, I want to reiterate that I purposely waited 2 months before bringing this up, one month to withdraw funds (so they are not just paper money) and the second month to see additional results/receive the funds, so I could at least personally vouch for some of this rather than just having the word of a 3rd party. I received my share without problem...if this were a scam why would I receive anything back at all? I obviously wouldnt have brought this up if I had doubts.

I don't want this to drag on, so let's just kill this thread here

If you'd like when I have my initial investment returned I'll bring it back up, or if I dont I'll bring it up also...regardless sorry i brought it up

[jillaj]

Not saying this is a pyramid or ponzi scheme but if you receive nothing they got your money. If they pay a little out they get your money and get you to get them more money.

Not everyone loses money in these schemes. Some people get there money out after the first interest payment. But they count on peoples greed and love of an easy buck to try to make more and recruit more people.

There is a show on MSNBC (i think it is msnbc could be cnbc) called American Greed that is full of these scams. It is a pretty good watch and you see some normally very intelligent people falling for some obvious scams. There are also a lot of dummies on the show to but it shows people from all walks of like have greed in common.

[Talking Poker]

Exactly.

Think about it from the "company's" side. Pretend you were going to set up a scam like this. What would you to to maximize your revenue? Would you steal the first $100 that comes through the door and then game over? Or would you set up a scam that rewards people for getting more people to send you money, paying out interest now and then and even paying off some customers in full in the beginning (with the "slow to show up" deposits), all the while watching your bank account grow? Then, when the money coming in slows down and the requests for money going out surpass them (or when the heat gets turned up by law enforcement) - THAT is when you close up shop for good.

This is why I am suggesting you get your money out now, while MAYBE you still can. But I know you really want to believe this isn't a scam and this company can magically trade Forex (note how that pick an exchange most people aren't very familiar with, not like stocks and bonds or something) and guarantee profit month after month, so I wouldn't be surprised if you let greed get the best of you and "gambled" with your $5k.

Please don't refer anyone else to this though - here or anywhere else. Just because this hasn't all come crashing down yet doesn't mean it isn't an elaborate scam. Believe me, it is.

[Zybomb]

Ok

BTW there are no guaranteed profits the numbers given are just maximum returns.

Is it possible that my friends uncle who has been a part of this for 2 years (and showed me his account) is lying and scheming me (and my friend) and that i was jus sent money back the first month (note how i am not depositing more money at anytime during this process) to setup something later.... i guess.

This thread is unnecessary now.

[JDMcNugent7]

obviously i wasnt gonna throw 20k at this without looking more into it, just wanted to see if i could get what i requested to even be a possibility.

interested to see if u can get ur $ out.

Also, I see a similiar plan in MotleyFool.com in a way. I mean you pay a monthly subscription to get estimated returns on stocks. While I don't beleive Fool is a scam, it seems as if it could be considered one. I guess the benefits they get from getting others to invest in stocks they've already purchased makes enough sense for it not be a scam though. Correct?

[Talking Poker]

IMO, he's not scamming you... he's also being scammed. But they will keep him happy (for a while), so long as he keeps sending them more money and more "paying customers."

I know you want to believe. People who get scammed never want to believe it, but eventually they all have to.

[Talking Poker]

Paying someone for stock advice is not comparable to sending someone large sums of money to magically invest for you.

[Zybomb]

If by a while you mean 2 years and counting and by happy you mean pay out in full then maybe. It's actually because of everything that he showed me that I was trusting...

I hope I laugh in your face in 4 months, but hey maybe you'll get to laugh in mine. Either way the thread is finished here. Lets get back to poker

[sjay2k]

There's no reason for you to laugh in our faces, we have just been trying to help.

[Talking Poker]

I certainly won't laugh in your face. I feel badly for you.

And if you end up getting your money out or even turning a profit before it all comes crashing down, I would hope you wouldn't laugh in mine.

And who knows - maybe you really have found something in this world that seems too good too be true but actually is true. So, GL.

[Talking Poker]

I just noticed this old thread.

How did things turn out, Zy? Did you get your money back, I hope?

[Zybomb]

After the 6 month period ended I finished w a total profit of $2779 on the $5k, below what was expected but still not bad. There was some issue that was supposedly causing the returns to be lower than "typical" or something towards the end. Whatever...

When I made the withdrawal request there was a delay in receiving $$$ as they had a new method of getting $ out called pacific mutual, basically a middle man site. I had to set up an account with them which was a pain in the ass, wait for a card to be sent to me with rows of numbers (took 3 weeks) then afterwords transfer the $ there then get it from there to my bank (charged a $42 or $46 i forget fee for the service but whatever). The whole process took close to 2 months to complete which was pretty ridiculous but I did receive the profits.

I left the $5k in and reinvested, so I guess I technically am not "ahead" but when i receive this next one i will be