Fake Investment Apps: How Not to Fall for Scammers' Tricks

Investments have always attracted scammers, dreaming of stealing money and enriching themselves at the expense of naive investors. There are quite a few investment scams on the internet, but a very common scheme among scammers is fake investment apps.

Fake Investment Apps

To lure a victim into a fake app, scammers send messages or place ads on websites with links. By clicking on this link, you automatically land on an app allegedly from an investment organization. At first glance, everything looks the same, matching the brand marks and logos. But you should take a closer look, study the site, examine the address, and it will immediately become clear that it is a fake.

Scammers often fake investment sites of well-known companies, but the goal is entirely different - to find a victim and steal their investments. Fake investment sites are created by scammers in violation of basic rules - this involves transferring money to a card or account not intended for investment transactions.

Before making an investment, you should review the app and ensure that the company has the necessary documents to carry out such actions.

How to Protect Yourself from Fraudulent Apps

If you receive many messages with enticing ads about investments, deposits with high-interest rates, and quick income, these may be fraudulent schemes.

To protect yourself from fraudulent apps:

• do not click on links and immediately trust the provided information;
• do not enter your personal data without ensuring that it is a legitimate app;
• keep card numbers, PIN codes, passwords, and keys secret.

Setting up reliable account protection will help avoid unpleasant encounters with scammers. Two-factor authentication will help keep information safe and prevent scammers from accessing accounts. The main goal of scammers is to collect money from naive and easily trusting people. Therefore, you should exercise caution and vigilance, trusting only verified sources.

Signs of a Fake Investment App

The main signs of a fake investment app have long been known, but it doesn't hurt to list them:

• offers of high returns with minimal investments;
• lack of permitting documents for conducting investment transactions;
• no contract with signatures is offered when concluding a deal;
• aggressive persistent requirement to involve relatives, friends, or acquaintances in investing in the app;
• lack of a physical office, contact details;
• lack of information about the founders.

Safe Apps for Investments

If there is an opportunity to engage in securities trading or investment growth analysis, the ability to process large volumes of information, all this can be done in a mobile app. Safe apps are the official apps of banks engaged in investments.

You should refer to popular investment apps, to leading banks that offer not only money investments but also investments in:

• bonds;
• stocks;
• mutual funds;
• exchange-traded funds.

A safe app must have two investment strategy functions - manual trading and automated trading. This allows easy understanding for both beginners and experienced users.

Fraud with Investment Apps

Investment offers are faked by scammers so that they can implement their schemes. Attracting victims to a fake investment site with an app requires the scammer to carry out a lot of work.

First of all, it's about luring the investor; for this, they often use mailings with enticing offers of returns with small investments.

Scammers, having collected the necessary amount of investments, close the app. Deceived users cannot do anything. Sometimes scams are carried out on a large scale, for this, the fraudsters lure the victim into an investment app, where after the first investment, the user observes an increasing income graph, but soon the graph sharply decreases, leading to a loss of investment and the need to replenish the account again.

How to Recognize a Fake Investment App

Modern technologies allow the creation of various platforms almost perfectly. Therefore, to recognize a fake investment app:

• you need to check information about the broker, whether they have permitting documents for trading or financial operations;
• inquire about the app creators;
• take a close look at logos and symbols, which at first glance, do not differ from well-known brands;
• check for aggressive advertising.

A company that persistently offers to attend the best courses on investing or trading for a fee doesn't mean they know the topic. Therefore, you should not immediately entrust your finances to the first person who promises you huge profits.