trading scams

kjasitis

I thought I would invest a bit of money into a trading platform - yes, to make some profit but mainly as a bit of fun and to satisfy my curiosity!
I came across the article about the Martin Lewis interview on Channel 4 which leads you to Expostbit App (I now know this in itself was a scam!) but somehow I ended up with a platform called Theprofitsupp. 
Unfortunately I paid them £169. I had a long phone conversation with the so-called manager which all seemed a bit weird. He was due to call me this morning but so far nothing!
What should I do? Any advice will be much appreciated.

eskbanker

kjasitis said:

What should I do? Any advice will be much appreciated.

Walk away and be grateful that you've only lost £169....

born_again

Not much you can do, but ask for your money back. Expect to have to jump through all sorts of AML checks though.

MSE_James

We're aware of some emails and adverts along these lines online and on social media. I'd like to assure you that these are in no way linked to Martin or MoneySavingExpert, and we appreciate that this is concerning.

For more, check out Martin's video about this issue and our Fake Ads guide:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajz-ySqdnxg

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/fake-martin-lewis-ads/

If you are concerned that you may have been a victim of a scam, you can read our guides on what to do if you've been scammed and ID Fraud Protection which should steer you in the right direction. You may also wish to contact the Citizens Advice Scams Action helpline online or by calling 0808 250 5050.

Mark_d

I would never blindly take a recommendation from any person - even if they are a celebrity.  If the suggestion looks interesting, then research it yourself and ask other people.  I tend to consider results that score highly across multiple trusted review platforms (known magazine, wellknown newspapers, Which?, Trustpilot etc.)

theDumbguy

I have been with the profitsup, and im the dumb guy. Im 3000 dollar deep in this company, and i have been trying to solve an issue with my credit they have provided for me. I was in an argument with my account manager sice he kept asking for more money and I replied with: I don't even know if it's real I'll lose all my money anyway on wich he replyd: if you lost it anyway why not take the credit and i said alright in my angry state. Now i dont have to money to pay off the credit and they dont want to paye out the rest of my funds untill this credit has been payed off. I stil can't tel if its real or fake untill I pay off my credit

eskbanker

theDumbguy said:

I have been with the profitsup, and im the dumb guy. Im 3000 dollar deep in this company, and i have been trying to solve an issue with my credit they have provided for me. I was in an argument with my account manager sice he kept asking for more money and I replied with: I don't even know if it's real I'll lose all my money anyway on wich he replyd: if you lost it anyway why not take the credit and i said alright in my angry state. Now i dont have to money to pay off the credit and they dont want to paye out the rest of my funds untill this credit has been payed off. I stil can't tel if its real or fake untill I pay off my credit

STOP!

Don't pay them anything else, whatever you do.  Ignore their cunning methods designed to part you from even more of your money - it's a more expensive lesson than OP's, but realistically you're not going to be seeing any of it again so the sooner that realisation dawns the better.

theDumbguy

Crap, im srewd...

Alderbank

theDumbguy said:

Crap, im srewd...

Shrewd or screwed?

kjasitis

Thanks for all the comments and really sorry about your situation, Dumbguy. But please don't beat yourself up too much - with all the crafty !!!!!! out there, it can happen to the best of us.
I am trying to be shrewd and not get screwed. Have cancelled my bank account so they can't take any more.
Not sure I've got the energy to battle for the £169 !! Interesting that the financial advisor I've been dealing with is regulated by FINRA but, although BrokerCheck knows him, it does not recognise profitsupp. But then maybe it's someone using his identity.

born_again

kjasitis said:

Thanks for all the comments and really sorry about your situation, Dumbguy. But please don't beat yourself up too much - with all the crafty !!!!!! out there, it can happen to the best of us.
I am trying to be shrewd and not get screwed. Have cancelled my bank account so they can't take any more.
Not sure I've got the energy to battle for the £169 !! Interesting that the financial advisor I've been dealing with is regulated by FINRA but, although BrokerCheck knows him, it does not recognise profitsupp. But then maybe it's someone using his identity.

T/C are scary. Hope you read them..

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As a non UK company. They do not need to be registered with the FCA. Which is Alarm bell time.

TheProfitSupp.com, operated by TheProfitSupp Management Ltd ®2022, is headquartered at Bergstrasse 107, 8032, Zurich. Should conflicts arise, both parties will make earnest efforts to resolve any disputes related to this Agreement. If a mutual solution is unreachable, either party may choose to escalate the matter to confidential arbitration, overseen by a sole arbitrator according to the ICC ADR Rules.

FINRA is American. 

You could try via

https://iccwbo.uk/

But I would not hold out much hope.