About Fraud at Seminars

Many people interested in learning about online forex trading wonder how they can determine whether or not the forex investment seminar they have heard about is likely to be a scam. Also, since new traders often end up losing money, you will want to keep that fact firmly in mind when listening to or reading promotional material for forex courses or investment schemes.

Many people interested in learning about online forex trading wonder how they can determine whether or not the forex investment seminar they have heard about is likely to be a scam. Also, since new traders often end up losing money, you will want to keep that fact firmly in mind when listening to or reading promotional material for forex courses or investment schemes.

Seminar Scam Warning Signs

The first red flag when it comes to scam forex seminars would be if the event promoters significantly understate the risks of forex trading and overstate the potential returns from the endeavor. Basically, forex trading is a risky business and amounts to little more than gambling on exchange rate movements, often using highly-leveraged positions. No such thing exists in the forex market as guaranteed high returns without taking similarly high risks.

Another major warning sign of a scam would be if the seminar promoters offer tax breaks, offshore investments or other financial incentives, such as guaranteeing unrealistically high returns. In essence, tax evasion is illegal, offshore investments often do not come back home to their owners, and unrealistically high returns are usually just that – not real.

In addition, a type of seminar scam exists in which a low-cost or even free seminar is offered that might be promoted as providing “secrets” to trading the forex market profitably. Nevertheless, speakers at the event itself rarely offer any useful advice, and they usually just serve as marketers aiming to whet a potential investor’s appetite for a much more expensive course, software package or personal mentoring service in a high-pressure sales environment. While the only thing you may lose in this sort of scam is your precious time, most people consider that to be a sufficient loss to justify watching out for this situation.

Protecting Yourself

Remember, con artists usually seek to take advantage of a person’s greed. Greed is simply the desire for more than you need, so keep it well in check when considering whether or not to attend such borderline investment seminars.

Furthermore, you can protect yourself against seminar scams or marginally-interesting, but still expensive seminars by carefully examining in advance the marketing materials for the course. Consider reviewing the backgrounds of the speakers involved by performing Internet research on them. See whether the company involved is legitimate or has any complaints about their seminars on Internet discussion forums.

You can also determine whether the company offering the seminar is listed with the Better Business Bureau in your area and whether they have a good reputation with that organization. Also remember to examine closely any forms that you are asked to sign since they can contain hidden clauses, including high cancellation fees if you are dissatisfied for some reason with the seminar.

Finally, if you get asked to part with your money or commit to doing so with a high-pressure sales pitch, seriously think about backing off. In essence, if a company offers a legitimate product or service, you should have all the time and information you require to decide whether or not it is in your best interests to purchase it.

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