Losing on binary options in foreign companies
The Economic Crime Division of the police authorities receive many enquiries about ‘options trading’ abroad
The Economic Crime Division (Økokrim) receive almost daily enquiries from people who’ve lost large amounts of money after acquiring binary options in foreign companies.
According to Økokrim, people often get threatened after investing in binary options in fraudulent companies that appear to be legitimate, reported Dagens Næringsliv (DN) economic newspaper.
‘In particular, adult women are being increasingly persuaded to invest in these binary options. In many cases,the money involved amounts to millions of kroner. Often, the threats start when victims wish to pull out of the options’, the leading State Attorney of Økokrim, Truste Stanghelle, told DN.
The threats tend to be along the lines of the victim being in danger of losing all of their investment if they don’t pay more, or that the companies claim that the victim owes them money.
Legal form of online trading
Stanghelle said that despite the seeming professionalism of providers, the investment plans offered are often nothing but purely fraudulent.
‘They may be offered through the mail, or there may be ads on Facebook, or elsewhere on the net. There may also be people who’ve been met online, who later come up with offers. It may start with a lower amount, for example 20,000 kroner, and can end up being a million,’ said Anne Dybo, an adviser in Økokrim.
Binary options are a legal form of online trading. Stanghelle can’t judge how many in Norway today have been affected by this. She assumes that the phenomenon is too new to be able to assess the figures.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
