Three Types of Fintech Scams You Should Know About: An OctaFX Guide
The growing fintech market is constantly developing ways to protect clients from fraud, hackers and fraudsters. 2020-2021 saw a 70% increase in payment fraud attacks across fintech products, with a 200% increase in the digital wallet sector and a 140% increase involving cryptocurrency exchanges. With that in mind, it has become clear that users need to know how to protect themselves. This comprehensive guide from OctaFX is here to help.
The first type of online fraud traders need to be aware of is phishing, usually an email from a service or organization you are expected to trust, such as your bank, a broker or a payment system. This email tries to steal your personal information, such as bank card details, or get you to install some malware to later demand a ransom to decrypt your files or unblock your system.
This is how it might look:
Another type of cyber attack involves a copycata clone of the actual broker or other fintech service, created specifically to trick unwary internet users.
Such websites may only differ from the original one by a single letter in the URL (for example easyinvesting.com and easylnvesting.com with “i” and “l” that look almost the same) with content almost or completely identical. But when it comes to making a deposit, the money – along with your bank card details – goes to fraudsters.
Regulators and brokers regularly warn users about copycats. Nevertheless, one must be careful and check everything once more before making a deposit.
The third type of scam that you may stumble upon online involves create a one-day scam company, such as a Forex broker or a crypto exchange. The company exists to lure unsuspecting users into making deposits and either steal them all at once, disappear the next day, or charge huge trading fees that quickly empty your wallet even if your trades are successful.
Spotting a scam broker is pretty easy. Such companies never have a long history of providing financial services and usually you will not find them featured in the media. Scam brokers do not receive awards from recognized international publications and organizations.
When it comes to charitable initiatives, they are something that Forex scams never do. You can inspect a long-standing broker like OctaFX and find that it has been operating for more than ten years, received numerous awards and is regularly featured in the media, primarily due to its global charitable projects
Here are some additional measures that will help you protect yourself from the popular types of cyber attacks mentioned above.
● To identify the authenticity of the brokers’ local pages, use their domain checker extensions (eg Google Chrome extension for OctaFX). If the domain name is different, this is a scam site or someone is using intellectual property illegally.
● When you see the broker’s logo online, double-check the domain name. Always assume that scammers will use a version of the brand name to try to trick you.
● Be careful when on social media. Brokers’ official social media accounts are usually listed on their official website. Unfortunately, more copycats appear daily, so it’s important to be vigilant, especially when engaging in Telegram and Facebook groups.
● Cross-check the news published online about special offers and partner activities with official information on the broker’s website and social networks. If it is not mentioned there, you are most likely about to be scammed.
● All your payments must be processed through the personal area of the broker’s official website or in their official apps. This is most likely a scam if someone asks to send payments through other means or channels, such as messenger apps or personal transfers. Do not hesitate to report such a person to the authorities or the broker’s customer support.
● Do not share any personal information on the Internet until you have thoroughly investigated the service/website/organization requesting it.
● Be careful when opening suspicious emails. Never download and open files that come from unknown email addresses.
About OctaFX
OctaFX is a global broker that has been providing online trading services worldwide since 2011. It offers commission-free access to financial markets and a range of services already used by clients from 150 countries who have opened more than 12 million trading accounts. Free educational webinars, articles, and analytical and risk management tools help clients achieve their investment goals.
The company is involved in an extensive network of charitable and humanitarian initiatives, including improving education infrastructure and short-notice relief projects supporting local communities and small and medium-sized businesses.
On a side note, OctaFX has also won more than 50 awards since its foundation, including the 2021 ‘Best Forex Broker Asia’ award from Global Banking and Finance Review and the 2021 ‘Best ECN Broker’ award from World Finance.
The growing fintech market is constantly developing ways to protect clients from fraud, hackers and fraudsters. 2020-2021 saw a 70% increase in payment fraud attacks across fintech products, with a 200% increase in the digital wallet sector and a 140% increase involving cryptocurrency exchanges. With that in mind, it has become clear that users need to know how to protect themselves. This comprehensive guide from OctaFX is here to help.
The first type of online fraud traders need to be aware of is phishing, usually an email from a service or organization you are expected to trust, such as your bank, a broker or a payment system. This email tries to steal your personal information, such as bank card details, or get you to install some malware to later demand a ransom to decrypt your files or unblock your system.
This is how it might look:
Another type of cyber attack involves a copycata clone of the actual broker or other fintech service, created specifically to trick unwary internet users.
Such websites may only differ from the original one by a single letter in the URL (for example easyinvesting.com and easylnvesting.com with “i” and “l” that look almost the same) with content almost or completely identical. But when it comes to making a deposit, the money – along with your bank card details – goes to fraudsters.
Regulators and brokers regularly warn users about copycats. Nevertheless, one must be careful and check everything once more before making a deposit.
The third type of scam that you may stumble upon online involves create a one-day scam company, such as a Forex broker or a crypto exchange. The company exists to lure unsuspecting users into making deposits and either steal them all at once, disappear the next day, or charge huge trading fees that quickly empty your wallet even if your trades are successful.
Spotting a scam broker is pretty easy. Such companies never have a long history of providing financial services and usually you will not find them featured in the media. Scam brokers do not receive awards from recognized international publications and organizations.
When it comes to charitable initiatives, they are something that Forex scams never do. You can inspect a long-standing broker like OctaFX and find that it has been operating for more than ten years, received numerous awards and is regularly featured in the media, primarily due to its global charitable projects
Here are some additional measures that will help you protect yourself from the popular types of cyber attacks mentioned above.
● To identify the authenticity of the brokers’ local pages, use their domain checker extensions (eg Google Chrome extension for OctaFX). If the domain name is different, this is a scam site or someone is using intellectual property illegally.
● When you see the broker’s logo online, double-check the domain name. Always assume that scammers will use a version of the brand name to try to trick you.
● Be careful when on social media. Brokers’ official social media accounts are usually listed on their official website. Unfortunately, more copycats appear daily, so it’s important to be vigilant, especially when engaging in Telegram and Facebook groups.
● Cross-check the news published online about special offers and partner activities with official information on the broker’s website and social networks. If it is not mentioned there, you are most likely about to be scammed.
● All your payments must be processed through the personal area of the broker’s official website or in their official apps. This is most likely a scam if someone asks to send payments through other means or channels, such as messenger apps or personal transfers. Do not hesitate to report such a person to the authorities or the broker’s customer support.
● Do not share any personal information on the Internet until you have thoroughly investigated the service/website/organization requesting it.
● Be careful when opening suspicious emails. Never download and open files that come from unknown email addresses.
About OctaFX
OctaFX is a global broker that has been providing online trading services worldwide since 2011. It offers commission-free access to financial markets and a range of services that are already used by clients from 150 countries who have opened more than 12 million trading accounts. Free educational webinars, articles, and analytical and risk management tools help clients achieve their investment goals.
The company is involved in an extensive network of charitable and humanitarian initiatives, including improving education infrastructure and short-notice relief projects supporting local communities and small and medium-sized businesses.
On a side note, OctaFX has also won more than 50 awards since its foundation, including the 2021 ‘Best Forex Broker Asia’ award from Global Banking and Finance Review and the 2021 ‘Best ECN Broker’ award from World Finance.
