Scammers on the stock exchange

Information gypsies are people who try to sell you something on the Internet, they introduce themselves as financial gurus, successful traders, etc...

The main difference between information gypsies and bona fide sellers and trainers is that information Gypsies actually represent nothing and have achieved nothing in the financial sphere. The only thing left for these poor devils to feed themselves is to try to sell some courses, subscriptions and other secret ways to enrich themselves.

Fortunately, such characters are very much burned by their aggressive, illogical and unprofitable advertising in terms of time. Just think about it, because there are ways to monetize your skills as a successful trader very effectively. And these methods are well-known and accessible and do not require investment of time and any specific skills.

 

Let's take an example. A trader who is able to earn money, making an average of 7 percent per month, decides to start earning a passive and more stable income. This is a normal situation and a good strategy when creating capital from scratch. Such a trader starts monitoring his account in the signals service or PAMM accounts. There are services whose results cannot be falsified. For example, the trading signals service on the MetaTrader 5 platform. All you need is to verify the reality of the server on which the signal is running, and that's it, forgery is impossible.

 But information Gypsies can't do that because they don't know how to trade profitably and stably. Therefore, they draw charts of their accounts with huge returns, the reliability of which cannot be confirmed. They tell stories about their greatness and secret trading skills, which are also very easy to impart to any housewife. They ask you to subscribe to a paid channel for 100 rubles, assuring you that this is where the sacred information and the path to financial success are located.

 

Within a year, the trader begins to receive a stable income. Let's not invent it and consider a real example. The signal on the MQL5 website has been working for 1 year. The real trader invested only 1750 EUR of his capital. It has an average yield of 12% per month. There were unsuccessful months with a yield of 1%, and very good ones with a yield of 40%. His signal now has 164 subscribers at a price of $30 per month. That's $4,920 per month. We will deduct the commission of the MQL5 website in the amount of 30% and get $3,444 in net income per month. With all this, this trader is just doing what he loves and does nothing else. No ads, videos, lies. And it's very easy to make sure of this - go to the signals service on the MQL website and sort the list by the number of subscribers. You will receive a real list of earning traders.

 

At the same time, an information gypsy has to shoot videos around the clock, where he usually shows in history what exact levels of support and resistance he finds. And as soon as he won back from this level, he earned 50% in 2 hours. By the way, the fun of these levels is that 100 people will draw 100 different levels. And the information gypsy himself will most likely draw a level in another place in a year.

 

Now imagine: while an information gypsy is poring over the editing of a video where he "accidentally" gets into the frame with an expensive watch (rented for an hour for filming), a real trader doesn't even think about posturing. His job is a cup of coffee and a schedule that doesn't need to be photoshopped. After all, if the signals are profitable, subscribers will come by themselves — like pigeons to bread crumbs. And the information gypsy has to pose as the Caesar of financial YouTube, because his only "asset" is the ability to speak loudly, beautifully and ... absolutely nothing. As the saying goes, "if you can't trade, teach others, and if you can't teach, write courses about it." But now we know where to look for the truth — in open services, and not in subscriptions for 100 rubles, which cost like a bottle of cola, but carbonate only the ego of the seller.

Rip-off merchants are sellers of exchange-traded software, whose motto is: it doesn't matter what to sell, it matters how. They don't teach you the "secrets of trading," but sell you indicators and Expert Advisors that "accurately predict the market." These characters swear that their algorithm is like an AI from the future: "Buys at the bottom, sells at the peak! It works 24/7 while you sleep!". But if you look closely, their "ingenious developments" are often slightly modified code that was originally published for free. 

What is the difference between honest developers and air sellers?

— The real creator of the Expert Advisor has been testing the strategy for years, publishing the history of transactions on a real account, and his indicator is an addition to the trading system, not a "magic button". His motto is: "Here's my Myfxbook or MQL5 signal, here's the statistics for 5 years — check it out."

— Rip-off merchants demonstrate a "backtest" with a yield of 1000% per month based on historical data (which he specially selected). His indicator draws arrows after the price has gone up, and the Expert Advisor "works" only on a demo account.

However, now the demonstration of a real account is the norm for any adviser being sold. Therefore, dishonest sellers have learned how to make beautiful real accounts with a little trick. You can often see a real account with incredible profits in the first month of operation. We are talking about 150-300% per month! But in the following months, the profit is ten times less and amounts to about 5-10%. 

Such accounts are often made according to the following scheme: the trading robot that is planned to be sold is configured in three versions - only on ascending monthly bars, only on descending monthly bars, and on all bars. Next, 2 identical accounts are opened and the targeted versions are launched with the most aggressive money management. At the end of the month, one account is merged, and the second one makes a huge profit. A version based on a full-fledged story is attached to this account. And money management should be kept to a minimum. 

Another distinguishing feature of non-bona fide sellers are discounts. Their products are full of promotions and huge discounts, and it is reported that the number of copies to be sold is limited. It's simple, the seller does not see the future of his product and is trying to grab at least some here and now. 

So, if you are offered a "robot millionaire" with a 90% discount "only until tomorrow" — congratulations! You have stumbled not on a technological breakthrough, but on the sale of illusions. Remember: an honest developer will not put pressure on pity for the "last copies", like a cunning trader in the market. His product is like a good wine: the longer it takes, the more expensive it gets, because the statistics are growing.

Kitchens are commonly referred to as unscrupulous brokers and other unscrupulous financial organizations. In principle, such organizations do not allow a trader to earn money. 

This can be done either by purely fraudulent schemes - forgery, changing quotes and huge requotes, or by fairly legal means. A broker can openly set up trading conditions that a trader simply cannot figure out and initially gets involved in a game that cannot be won. What seems like an easy profit actually turns into a trap.

Binary options are a good example of such a divorce, there doesn't seem to be any cheating. But if you calculate everything, it turns out that in order to stay at zero, you need to win more than 60 percent of transactions. Considering that the deal is essentially a 50-50 bet, even the "God of Trading" couldn't make money here. Although he probably would have done it anyway, but he would have rocked the variance on his deposit a lot and definitely would not have remained satisfied.

 

Strangely enough, licensed banks can also resort to such schemes. We will not mention the names here. Well, I remember about 10 years ago, a very well-known bank decided to give the population a gift and started selling gold as an investment, the announcement was posted in all branches and the grannies happily looked at the real opportunity to earn. The difference between the bid and the ask of this offer was such that even if gold continued to move up, it would take more than a year just to recapture this spread.

 And unscrupulous brokers may simply not pay out your winnings. The trader earns money, everything works out for him, but when trying to withdraw funds from the deposit, they start putting sticks in his wheels in every possible way. As a result, the money remains with the broker, and the trader is left with nothing.

However, not everything is so bad, since brokerage, like banking, when properly organized, allows you to earn huge profits without resorting to fraud. Therefore, there are a huge number of brokers and banks that do not deceive their clients, but earn exclusively on commission. Choose your financial partners carefully and carefully read the agreements and terms.

Answer the questions to understand if you are at risk.

 1. What do you think about a 30% monthly return?

a) It's okay, I've seen videos where they do that!

b) It is possible, but only with a leverage of 1:1000.

c) This is either a divorce or an extremely risky strategy with a high probability of subsequent collapse.

2. How do you choose an Expert Advisor/ indicator?

a) I'm watching an advertisement: "90% DISCOUNT! ONLY 10 COPIES!".

b) I trust those who have a beautiful graph with colorful arrows.

c) I check the history of transactions on a real account for at least 2 years.

3. Your reaction to the first loss:

a) I double the bet to recoup the loss!

b) I turn off the computer and cry into my pillow.

c) I analyze the error and check with risk management. In case of unstable morale, I take a break and go lick my wounds.

4. What is a "stop loss" for you?

a) For weaklings! Real pros hold their position until victory.

b) This is when the broker closes the deal himself to punish me.

c) A mandatory rule for limiting losses.

5. How do you feel about signals from Telegram channels?

a) Subscribed to 20 channels where they say "BUY NOW!!!".

b) Sometimes I check to see if I'm lucky.

c) I consider them a lottery with a negative expectation.

6. Your main source of trading knowledge is:

a) A YouTube video titled "How I earned $1 million in a day.

" b) Advice from a "guru" from the comments under the Forex advertisement.

c) Books, webinars by trusted experts and personal experience.

7. What do you do before investing $1,000 in a new instrument?

a) I pray that the gods of trends will be kind to me.

b) I turn on the "Magic line" indicator and put everything on red.

c) I am testing the strategy on a demo account and studying historical volatility.

8. Your opinion on diversification:

a) Why? I found the Holy Grail — one asset for all the money!

b) I will buy 10 cryptocurrencies.

c) I distribute capital between different assets and strategies.

9. What do you say about "guaranteed profit"?

a) Yes, I have already bought the course "A million in a week without risk!".

b) It happens, but only if you are very lucky.

c) It's an oxymoron, like "an honest con man."

10. Is trading the way to financial stability?

a) Of course! I've already quit my job to trade with credit money.

b) It is possible, but only as a supplement to the basic income.

c) No, this is a profession with high risks and huge psychological burdens. The variance of the balance line will be huge.

11. Your goal for the coming year:

a) Become richer than Elon Musk by trading with credit money.

b) Learn to pronounce "Hedging" without hesitation.

c) Save the deposit and maybe even get into a stable plus.