The Securities Division received a complaint from an investor about VIP3 Ares U.S. Stock Group, an investment group that operates on WhatsApp. The group offers investors daily updates on stock trends, pre-market trading strategies, and long and short-term trading tips, among other things. The investor states they have made good profits but have not attempted to withdraw.
DFI has not verified the allegations in this complaint.
DFI has received many complaints about potentially fraudulent investing groups that use WhatsApp to conduct their activities. Investors are given trading tips in these investing groups and see purportedly high profits in their accounts, but then are unable to withdraw their funds. The scammers behind these groups often demand the investor pay a number of fees and other expenses that were not previously disclosed to the investor before the withdrawal can go through. Many investors pay these fees but are never able to withdraw and the scammers then disappear with their invested funds. These types of scams are commonly called “Advance Fee Fraud”, which can take many forms.
Investment Tips
DFI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment advice or financial services. Investment professionals need to be licensed with DFI to offer investments to Washington residents. To check the licensing status and to find out if there are any complaints against an investment professional, please visit FINRA Brokercheck. In addition, all investment products sold need to be registered or meet an exemption from registration. To check to see if the investment product is registered or filed a notice of exemption in Washington State, 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.