The rising level of investment scams poses a major threat to the financial security of many individuals. The speed with which the fraudsters operate and the methods they employ leaves little time for the target to question the proposition or recognise that it is a scam until it is too late.

The target is frequently pre-selected by a series of questions put to them by the sales staff aimed at establishing whether the individual, nor anyone close to them, has any prior knowledge of the type of "investment opportunity" that is being offered. Once drawn into the scam and persuaded to part with your money, typically you will be told that your money has been lost, then scammers use a combination of persuasion and threats to keep you involved and paying more money into the scam, from offering to trace "lost" investment money for an up-front fee to threatening legal action is you stop sending money and want to withdraw.

There are steps you can take once you recognise that you have been targeted by scammers which will provide you with evidence and give you a better chance of recovering your money on two fronts. First, by persuading the fraudsters that you have a sound case, with supporting evidence, which will succeed in court. This may, in turn, convince the broker to refund your money straight away. Secondly, if it does become necessary to go through the courts, you will have a strong case.

If you suspect that you have been targeted by a fraudulent broker take the following action immediately:

  • Make a clear request for your money to be returned.
  • Should the firm fail to refund your money, cease all contact with the firm.
  • Do not send any more money to them regardless of what is said to you.
  • Keep copies of all correspondence, emails and text messages.
  • Keep copies of any loan applications, credit card applications that the fraudsters may have sent to you regardless of whether you applied for either type of finance.
  • Any further attempts to contact you should be noted by written records of any conversations.

Despite the fact that such sophisticated frauds are rife, it is not impossible to recover your misappropriated money. There are a number of avenues to pursue for recovery. The lawyers in Giambrone's Financial Services, Forex and Binary Options department have recovered monies in excess of £9 million for our defrauded clients.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.