The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint regarding PrimeMarketTrading.com, a website claiming to be “An international digital investment management platform.”
The investor learned of PrimeMarketTrading.com from an individual that they met in a “Women’s Group” on Facebook. Subsequently, the investor sent $500.00 to their trading account with a “0 loss” guarantee. The investor was later informed that if an additional $3,135.00 wasn’t invested, their account would be deactivated, and they would lose all their money. The total profit generated from the $500.00 investment reached $7,425.00.
According to the website, Prime Market Trading alleges that they are featured by popular entities like Forbes and CNBC. Services advertised on the website include financial management and investments in the areas of Real Estate, Cryptocurrency, Forex and Stocks. Investment plan durations last from 72 hours to 30 days and the “deposits” to participate in those plans range from $200.00 to $100,000.00. The website advertises a company certificate from Australian Business Registry Services under the name “Octanex Global.” Upon further investigation, several identical websites were found including one for Octanex Global with the URL of Octanexglobal.com and another called ApexFxFinance.com that is using the same Business Certificate.
This appears to be a scam resembling Social Media and Investment Fraud, and Advance Fee Fraud, which can take many forms.
DFI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. Investment professionals need to be licensed with DFI to offer investments to Washington residents. In addition, most investment products sold need to be registered with DFI. To check the licensing status and to find out if there are any complaints against an investment professional or investment product, please visit FINRA Brokercheck or contact the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division at (360) 902-8760. If you live outside of Washington State, contact your state securities regulator.
If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding an investment product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the Securities Division.
Additional Resources
Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers