Online Scamming: How it Works, how to Avoid it

Your phone rings, you answer, and hear someone introduce themselves as a representative for a trading firm.

This person claims to have a special offer just for you.

You are intrigued but sceptical, rightly so.

This person gets to talking, they start to convince you slowly but surely, that they can make you a lot of money.

You become more interested, the ‘representative’s’ plan is fool proof and sounds perfect for you.

They then ask for your bank card details, which you share as you think they are trustworthy, and think only positively of this super helpful salesperson who is about to make you a lot of money.

After a while, you notice that you aren’t making money, but losing it, a lot of it.

Your attempts to negotiate with the previously kind and helpful representative go nowhere, they tell you to ‘invest’ more.

They get agitated with you and hang up, no longer picking up the calls.

There is nothing that can be done, you have lost thousands and you can’t get them back.

This is the reality for many people as these scams have been increasing.

One global scamming network has stolen more than a billion dollars worth of innocent people’s money by masquerading as representatives for seemingly legitimate trading firms.

Anyone could be the victim of these telephone trading scams, but there is a main target.

Pensioners are often targeted, as they are older and aren’t as tech-savvy, and they are getting money from their pension.

The scammers have personal details that allow them to plan how they would get their victims to cooperate.

It could be where they’re originally from, where they currently live, the amount of money in their savings, what responsibilities they have, whether they own their home, and others.

The network is known as the Milton group.

Scammers came up with the name but stopped using it in 2020.

152 brands are a part of this network.

Milton group even sponsored Sevilla FC and has advertised in Major newspapers, which gives it some level of credibility, to potential investors.

Most victims sign up after seeing adverts on social media.

Normally, they would receive a phone call within 48 hours from the scammer who tells them they could get returns of up to 90% a day.

Some of the firms are under UK regulations, however, they use the victim’s losses to transfer them to unregulated firms so they can steal more money.

Even under the regulations, the firms are using shady practices that are illegal under UK regulations.

Things like having the victim install software that allows the scammer to take control of the machine remotely.

Or directing victims to place trades that are designed to lose the victim money but make money for the scammer.

The biggest thing to look at is the trading firm’s website.

Be very thorough in your read-through of their practices and their terms and conditions.

Even if they sound convincing, don’t give your bank details to anyone over the phone.

Look through reviews of the firm, has anyone been scammed and has left a warning?

Take to social media, and search for the firm on social media to see what is being said about them.

You must also know when to quit.

Make sure you are using minimal money if you do give your information over, test the waters, and don’t let the caller push you to something you don’t want.

If you start to lose money, stop investing.

Don’t be too willing with the caller, even if you are certain that it is legitimate, the callers often become agitated and impatient.

They often start shouting abuse and swearing, this way you can tell how real the call is.

If you need more advice on how to protect yourself and your business from potential scams, contact our team.