Is my MIL being scammed?

[lectureyou]

Hi all! I’m hoping someone can help me, since I’m ignorant on this topic. Last week I was on holiday with my hubby and my in-laws. Once we arrived at our destination, my MIL excused herself and said that she just has to do something on her laptop. She excitedly explained that she has started trading in forex, and that someone is helping and advising her. She proudly said that she made R900 in 2 days so far thanks to his advice. She said that he WhatsApp’s her when she should make a trade (or something like that?). I was immediately suspicious and asked her what the person advising her gets out of it, and she said that she doesn’t know, because she’s not paying him to do it. This sounded super dodgy but the conversation moved on and I decided to talk to my husband about it later. I did, and he seemed to thing his parents, who are highly educated people, wouldn’t fall for a scam. I decided to mind my own business. My MIL continued to receive WhatsApp’s and make trades throughout the week. I don’t know how she met this person, whether he contacted her or she found him, or any more details, but I can’t stop thinking about it. I did some Googling and it sounds like a signal scam but I don’t understand what the scammer would be getting out of it. Is there anyone who can confirm if there is any possibility that this would be a legit thing? It just seems wildly scammy to me and I don’t want my MIL to lose money but I also don’t want to make a fuss over something I know nothing about.

 

[leah329]

@lectureyou Sounds like a scam, yeah. It's quite likely that she's trading on a fake forex platform and the scammer already made the money she put in. Now he's just playing the long con to get her to put more money in.

 

[gracebute]

@leah329 She needs to try withdraw her money, if this leads to immediate resistance from the scammer then its a scam in all likelihood.

 

[goldenrule636]

@leah329 Exactly this. Let her try withdraw her money.

 

[ruien2]

@lectureyou So buying signals is a thing in the Forex and Crypto day trading scene. Often they start out as a free WhatsApp groups but often require (or encourage) paying for a premium option once you’ve made some money off them.

I’d also ask your MIL some info under the guise of wanting to learn how to make some money yourself. Find out which platform and broker she’s using. Once you know that you can work out exactly what she’s got herself into.

During times of economic downturn scams are on the rise. Question everything.

 

[rma0323]

@ruien2 This is the way.

It's definitely a scam. No one who has earned money investing has ever done it in this way, or told a story that sounds like that.

 

[lectureyou]

@ruien2 Thanks, this is great advice. I think I have to have a serious talk with the hubby today so we can get some more info from MIL. I’m not that close to her so it would be weird coming from me. I don’t understand how he isn’t more worried, my alarm bells are deafening.

 

[lovewithoutforgiveness]

@lectureyou Yes she is being scammed. Consider all money lost and tell her not to put in anything more.

 

[resjudicata]

@lectureyou Some tips:

• You can look up the platform she using on behindmlm.com. If the company is mentioned there, it is 100% a scam.
• There are no people out there that will trade for you and make you money. Any traders who could do this, would rather do it for themselves instead. (Crypto arbitrage is the only exception here, because it relies on individual citizen's SDA/FIAs, so there is a need for you)
• Any returns over 5% a month is probably a scam. Even 2% per month is extremely difficult to get. 9 - 12% per year return on any investment in SA is considered high.
• Crypto signals are a scam. I can give you names of a few free ones that are "ok-ish" but most of them are less than 70% accurate and sometimes even lower than that. For signals to work in the long run, you need over 70% accuracy which I have not seen in my many years in the industry.

If you can share the platform she is using, I can probably confirm immediately if it's a scam.

 

[brendan88]

@lectureyou I’ve heard of similar scams where they advise you to trade in crypto. Then ask for access to your account via API. They then steal your money. Assuming the account is in a reputable platform. An alternative is the platform is fake too. This could be similar or they may be showing her wins for now and want her to send more money.

So this sounds dodge to me but might be wrong.

 

[revlinda]

@lectureyou She would have been provided with a link to a spoof trading site, made to look identical to the real one.
Get her to google the name of the exchange she’s using, and sign in with her details. It will come up with “no user found” or something along those lines.
Also, if she tries to withdraw from the site she’s using, she won’t be able to.
I fell victim to the same type of scam unfortunately. You’ll have to convince her to cut her losses ASAP.

 

[amandaleann]

@revlinda Sorry that happened to you. Why did you not consider going the usual route of investing money in the bank? I'm genuinely curious.

 

[revlinda]

@amandaleann I was in a bad spot financially. Got fed a load of stuff about how quick and easy it was with big returns in a short term period. Naively took the bait. Not proud of it, but it’s something that happened and I’ve learned my lesson. If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is.

 

[amandaleann]

@revlinda Thanks for your candor. I hope things are better for you these days.

 

[rh27]

@lectureyou There are many free signal groups that you can find, some a re good, some are not.

Usually they also offer a paid service as optional where they offer more signals or training, other times they suggest a broker and get paid either CPA commission or % of fees the broker makes for lots traded by the customers they refer.

Some people offer it for free just to help people out.

She just needs to make sure she is using a reputable broker.

Im glad that she found someone who sends good signals.

If you want, send me the link of the watsapp or telegram group where she receives the signals from and I will check it out for you