Date Posted: 
Tuesday, September 6, 2022

DFI received a complaint from a Washington resident concerning Create Wealth Global Limited and its website, www.cwg-ltd.com. Create Wealth Global Limited, through cwg-ltd.com, represented that it is a “World-class blockchain asset trading platform,” which “allows customers to easily enter a variety of global trading markets” including foreign exchange and precious metals.

The cwg-ltd.com website is no longer accessible. Create Wealth Global appears to be using the website www.fx007.top, which is a domain registered in China. The website is in Chinese and appears to be a platform for trading in forex as well as other types of investments.

The victim told DFI that they were scammed into transferring money through an app called MetaTrader 5, which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store as well as through Google Play. The metatrader5.com website states that its app allows traders and brokers to “perform technical analysis and trading operations in the Forex and exchange markets.”

The victim heard about MetaTrader 5 and Create Wealth Global Limited from a person who sent a text message to the victim. Upon learning that the victim was a Chinese speaker, the scammer developed trust with the victim and requested to communicate via the Line app. The scammer learned that the victim wanted to make money to start a business in China that could also benefit orphans in China. The scammer then lured the victim by offering to give them “tips” on trading gold through the London Gold Exchange.

The scammer first told the victim to download the MetaTrader 5 demo app and then to designate Create Wealth Global Limited as their broker on the app, which routed the victim to the

cwg-ltd.com platform. The scammer then instructed the victim to open a trading account on

cwg-ltd.com. The scammer told the victim to withdraw funds from their 401k and to get loans from various financial institutions in order to make larger investments for the greatest returns. The victim transferred $320,000 into their cwg-ltd.com account via Crypto.com after first converting U.S. dollars into a crypto “stablecoin” called Tether (USDT). The scammer directed the victim in their trades, which appeared to generate very profitable returns. After the scammer offered to help with “one last trade,” the victim checked their account and saw that their

cwg-ltd.com account appeared to have lost $80,000 within minutes. When the victim asked what had happened, the scammer told them that they had lost on their investments and needed to deposit the $80,000 into their cwg-ltd.com account so as not to negatively affect their credit. The victim borrowed $80,000 from friends to purchase Tether on Crypto.com, then deposited the Tether into their cwg-ltd.com account. These allegations have not been verified by DFI.

Create Wealth Global Limited used what appears to be an unrelated app to redirect unsuspecting investors to their fraudulent platform. Investors are fooled into sending assets to an account that is actually a wallet controlled by the scammer. The FBI recently issued a warning to investors regarding similar scams that have defrauded investors of over $42 million since October 2021.

See: FBI says fake crypto apps defrauded investors of more than $42 million (cnbc.com)

This also appears to be what is commonly called “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 DFI, 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 complaint with the Securities Division.

Additional Resources

Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers

Information Regarding Investing Strategies, Investment Products, and How to Protect Yourself from Fraud

What You Can Do to Avoid Investment Fraud