A South African man is concerned that he has been duped out of R115,000 via a trading platform

　　“I had no cause to be suspicious of them. So, what do I do now？ What options do we have？” These were the sentiments of a despondent South African man who says he was duped out of more than R100,000 by an internet trading site. The individual, who did not want to be identified, said he came across an item on YouTube in December last year that claimed South Africans are now engaging in internet trading. He clicked on the link and was sent to the KontoFX website, where he created an account.

　　The 54-year-old guy claimed to have created a €250 bank account (R3,990). “I had no reason to suspect it because they went through all of the Fica [Financial Intelligence Centre Act] checks and such.” There was no need for me to be alarmed. “When some sites write about politicians investing themselves, you start to trust them. ”When my initial investment of €250 went south, I increased my stake. “I made a few blunder deals.” He said that he had invested over €7,000 (R111,743) since then, but that he had no access to his earnings or the money he had deposited. “Now that I'd made money, I couldn't withdraw any funds from the account.” “I'm not even attempting to remove everything,” he explained.“I would not have invested if I had done a more thorough examination. I'm anxious to get that money back because that was all I had when I got into financial trouble ”he stated.

　　The Malta Financial Services Authority has issued a warning concerning the firm known as KontoFX. The company claims to be a forex broker with a web-based trading platform. According to MSFA, it appeared to be a “dubious nature” scam with a significant danger of losing money. KontoFX was not regulated or permitted by the authority to provide investing and other financial services, according to the regulator.

　　Police raided the contact center after receiving complaints from victims, arresting 482 employees. Potential victims were persuaded to invest in stocks or Bitcoin in a fictitious London firm. The thieves then collected the victims' credit card and banking details.