So I’ve found myself in a bit of difficult situation, long story short. A friend of mine told me I should invest in a platform she uses for crypto. I have been trading Crypto for a little while but was unfamiliar with the type of trade she told me about. She reassured me that same principles apply and would help guide me if needed. So on her recommendation without even thinking or stupidly not even researching the company. I deposit $250 into the platform. I do not know what type of trade it is called, even google can not tell me. The contract only lasts for one of three lengths, you have a choice of either 60, 120, or 180 seconds. You buy or sell for and amount of your choice and if your prediction is correct it returns 97% profit. It does not matter how many points it shifts by, the amount stays the same. Unless your prediction is incorrect then it returns nothing. Now I don’t mean to be patronising here, as I know I probably am. But I just want to be clear on what it is because I do not know the correct name for this type of trade and evidentially I am still learning.
So, I ended up turning my initial investment of $250 into $11,880 in just 3 days (todays value is $13,190 due to bitcoins rise) I then tried to make a withdrawal of $1,880 and my withdrawal was cancelled. So the first thing I did was get in touch with the customer service, who’s English is horrific. The language barrier is really bad. But what I did managed to get out of the conversation is that are some abnormalities on my account, which they do not elaborate on and have said that before I can make a withdrawal I have to make security deposit of 20% of my account balance which at the time was $2352. Once I have done so it will be added to my balance and I will then be able to withdraw it immediately. I’ve never heard of anything like this before and do not know if this is a scam. So I am hoping that you are able to find the time to give me some advice.
I know I’m probably clutching at straws here.
The company and platform app is called Puth and the web domain is ch316 .com
I would be extremely grateful for any advice you can give me, even if it’s as short as, do it or don’t do it.
And nothing ever comes of this I would still like to thank you all for you time.
From what you have said, it is a total scam and you will not see your money again if you put it there. The idea that you have to add more to be able to withdraw is a classic scam.
Who on earth is this “friend” who recommended this? Have you talked about it with them at all? What have they got to say about it? What happened when they tried to withdraw.
I cannot see anything other than the world “SCAM” written all over this…
PS I found one platform “PUTH” via Google. Claims to have over 74 mill subscribers - that’s more than the entire population of the UK…and yet no one’s heard of it??? Scam!!!
This looks a typical binary options type trading scam that has been banned by most regulators.
Thank you for such a prompt response. So I guess it’s not looking good. My initial loss may only be $250 but the time and effort I put into it makes me feel like I’ve lost the full amount.
I’ve known this person for a while now which hurts a lot more than the money itself. I signed up on a referral code from her. I told her I thought it was a scam when they first requested I deposit. She told me she’s never encountered this before and then sent me screen recordings of her making a withdrawal from the same platform which was processed and in her bitcoin wallet within an hour. She also said she’s that confident it’s not a scam that she would send 50% of the deposit to my platform wallet. Which the more I think about it now is actually really clever. I’ve a good mind to accept her offer and give her the wrong receiving address, take my $250 and send her the rest back. Which would be great, if only my conscience would allow it. I could never snoop that low.
Anyway, I thank you once again for your help. Even if it is a hard bit of advice to swallow.
Sounds like she is on a deal with them. I mean like referral codes and screen recorded withdrawals! Who would have that unless they have some kind of agnecy agreement. The withdrawal may well be a commission payment for introduced business, which they would naturally pay as it is only part of the investments brought in by this person.
The entire mechanism that you describe is so far from the business of regulated brokers and investment firms that it can only be a fraud, all the more so when they refuse to pay you withdrawals unless you put even more money in. And, again, what possible significance is 20% of your account balance as a “security deposit”! It is surely only a way to soak more money out of you.
Just out of interest did you ever get any kind of transaction statement for the trades that brought up to $11880? And what was being traded? I suspect all the numbers are just made up to look good and to increase the size of the 20% that they want you to pay!
I don’t know where you are based but it might be worth reporting this to the financial regulators in your country. They may already have information of them and , if not, they will be pleased to get some!
It was a live screen recording hence it was pretty convincing, From beginning to end of the transaction all the time and date stamps were there, I could see the time on the top of screen, all transaction numbers matched and she sent it me within minutes of me telling her it was a scam. Except for the when the funds hit her wallet that was just a screenshot. Has to be pretty hard to fake that sort of thing. Especially in the time she did. Unless the platform pay her a percentage and she has real withdrawal facilities on her account. I also have screenshots of every transaction made, I even compared charts to my MT4 and TradingView accounts and they match up. I also didn’t win every trade, I’ve lost a few to be fair. Wasn’t like I just won every order I placed, which I though may be a glimmer of hope because I thought a scam would just ensure you win, it would increase the amount they get out of you in the end. In fact, at one point point I nearly lost it all. So I went back to the charts and built it back up.
I’m based in the UK I’ll get onto FCA just as soon as I stop feeling sorry for myself
Maybe I am just over cynical, but that is exactly how it sounds to me and the recorded live transactions? Sounds too slick to me to be anything other than an agency-type deal.
I think that is a very good idea.
I hope very much that you will come back and tell us how things develop, whichever way it goes. These are important issues for people to know about.
The website clearly looks like a scam, poor design, no legal info, disclaimers, etc. If you want to to speculate on crypto use Binance or Coinbase. If you don’t want to deal with crypto directly, you can try CFDs on Bitcoin, for example offered by Hotforex.
This right here is the clearest sign that it’s a scam. So sorry to hear you’ve experienced this @Arron82. You still talk to your friend who recommended you this platform?
I’m so sorry for such a last response. I’m sure I should be getting email notifications. Anyway, needless to say we are no longer on speaking terms. In fact all she could say for herself was that I’m to follow the instructions of the platform and everything will be ok. I’m not even sure how she’s ended up being involved in something like this. If she was that desperate for money I would have given it her if she’d just of asked.
Yeah that for sure is a friendship-breaker. That’s honestly even worse than being tricked into an MLM pitch! Which btw I’ve also ended about 2 friendships because of that.
Haha, well I fortunately haven’t had to sit through one of those. Imagine having being duped into two of them though, that sucks. Hopefully they didn’t last to long. I believe she/they will all get their comeuppance soon, of that I’m sure.
During both instances I had to be polite while they were pitching but knew then that I would never speak to them again. Hopefully they get one who’d recommend them a broker too
A lot of hard work needs to be done in the market for a trader to be able to reach their financial goals. It’s always a do or die situation. You either make or lose money. There is no in between. So, you better come prepared and do as much hard work as you can.
