All scam alerts
Public scam alert
FSMA Warning: How Fraudulent Trading Platforms Harvest Data to Scam Investors
Belgium's FSMA has issued an alert detailing how online trading scammers capture victim data through misleading social media ads and has blacklisted numerous fraudulent platforms.
Pause before you respond
Do not send money, disclose credentials, or use contact details supplied in an unsolicited message. Verify the organisation independently.
The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) of Belgium has issued a public warning detailing the mechanisms used by fraudulent trading platforms to harvest personal data and orchestrate investment scams.
According to the FSMA, most investment fraud schemes originate on social networks. Scammers run aggressive advertisements promising guaranteed wealth, risk-free returns, or miraculous automated software, including artificial intelligence tools, trading software, and educational courses. These ads direct users to landing pages designed to capture contact details through an online form.
The FSMA outlined the typical lifecycle of these investment scams:
1. Initial Contact: After an individual submits their information on a web form, a supposed "expert" calls within minutes.
2. Guided Deposit: The caller reassures the victim and walks them through making an initial financial transfer.
3. Account Handover: The victim is connected to a dedicated "trader" who assists in setting up an account on a fraudulent trading platform.
4. Building Trust: The fake trader cultivates a relationship of trust, encouraging the victim to invest larger sums.
5. Fictitious Profits: The platform displays rapidly increasing profits with a highly professional interface. In some instances, users are permitted to withdraw a small portion of their funds to create a false sense of security.
6. Withdrawal Roadblocks: When larger withdrawals are requested, unexpected hurdles appear. Fraudsters demand unexpected "taxes," additional fees, or advance payments.
7. Aggressive Escalation: As victims question the platform's legitimacy, operators switch to intimidation, threats, continuous harassment, or complete disconnection, leaving the victim unable to recover their invested capital.
The FSMA identified multiple fraudulent websites and platforms through which victims submitted their personal information:
- Bit 2.0 Urex (the-bit2urex.com, bit2urex.com)
- Bitcoin 360 Ai (bitcoin360ai.com, bit-indexai.com, the-bitcoin360-ai.com, bitcoin-360-ai.org)
- Bitcoin Bot (bitcoin-bot.app, bitcoin-bot-pro.com)
- BitiCodes (biticodes.com, the-biticodes.com, biticodes-app.com)
- Bitindex Prime (bitprime-gold.com, bitindexprime.org, bitindexprime.com, bit-indexprime.app, bit-indexprime.com, thebitindex-prime-app.com, thebitindex-prime.com)
- BitIQ (bitiq.app, bit-iq.co, bitiq.org, bitqt-app.net, bitiq.live, bitiqapp.com)
- Bitsoft 360 (bitsoft360.com)
- Granimator (granimator.live)
- Immediate Connect (immediateconnect.net, immediate-connect.app, immediateconnect.ai)
- Immediate Momentum (immediate-momentum.com, immediate-momentum.io)
- Markets trends education (markettrends.education)
- Oil (Pro) Profit (oilproprofit.com, oil-profit.app)
- Professor PIPS (professorpips.academy)
- ProMarket (promarket.academy)
- Quantum Prime Profit (quantum-prime-profit.com)
- Trade 2.0 Intal (500tradeintal.app, 500intal.trade)
- University4Traders (university4traders.com)
The regulator urges consumers to exercise extreme vigilance when encountering online investment advertisements. Anyone who suspects they have been targeted or victimized by these fraudulent operations is advised to contact the FSMA directly via their consumer contact channels and file a formal report with local police or judicial authorities.