Stock Fraud & Scams

Don’t be caught out by investments, stocks or shares scams, these scams are rampant and are been operated from dating apps, telegram, whatsapp, wechat and other online platforms.  There are many kinds of scams, such as, crypto trading, gold fraud, bitcoin fraud, pyramid and Ponzi schemes. No matter the modus operandi or the method, the idea is to offer a quick, high return to tempt you into making a bad decision, often with urgency. Digitpol has investigated dozens of such scams which require funds to be transferred to offshore jurisdictions such as Hong Kong.

Digitpol, an investigation agency conducts investigations into Stock Broker Fraud and Investment Fraud, such crimes are rising rapidly, scams such as stock fraud, issuing of shares, broker fraud and investment scams are all well organised and not easily to detect. Digitpol has seen an increase in Investment and stock broker scams targeting Hong Kong, Digitpol’s office in Hong Kong can facilitate the public with checks against companies offering such shares and stocks in order to validate if they are actual companies, if they are registered to trade and sell shares and if they actually are present in Hong Kong.

Digitpol’s operational units deploy daily to assist with the verification of stock brokers and checks on issued shares, validate share certificates, validate investment firms offering such sales.

Digitpol conducts checks on several layers, document examination, email examination, verification at the stock exchange, share certification checks and on-site visits to the investment company.

It is typical that fake trading and Investment fraudsters have used a fake website that are similar to the name of a real trading firm thats “live” and registered in Hong Kong or a company name that’s already dissolved or asks the public to send funds to an account that is different to the trading firm, a common fraudulent signal is that the website of the trading firm is similar to a real trading firm but is not the actual website of the real firm.

A common “redflag: is a different bank account name than the trading firm that is used for deposits.

Digitpol can check all aspects of a investment company, its location, structure, license, website and the domain. Digitpol conducts checks with the real company to confirm it is theirs (real) or not (fake). Digitpol’s office in Hong Kong can validate if the company really exists and if they are authorised and “live” in the sector of financial trading.

In the majority of cases, Digitpol visits the companies office to validate the checks and meet with its staff. In the event the findings are fraudulent, then a Police complaint and procedure to recover funds is required. If you have purchased shares in Hong Kong that you suspect to be fraudulent contact Digitpol to carry out checks and prepare a report, following that a complaint is necessary at the Hong Kong Police.

How to check if a stock or shares offer in Hong Kong is genuine? Contact Digitpol to conduct due diligence and validate all the facts, licensing, documents along with a visit to investment company office.

If you have transferred funds to a fraudulent bank account in Hong Kong, the following is urgent.

  • Report the incident as soon as possible to your local police in the country you reside in. Obtain the Police report or case number.
  • Immediately alert your bank the transaction is fraudulent.
  • Engage Digitpol and its legal team to act for you in Hong Kong by reporting the complaint to the Police and conducting an Investigation by liaising with the Police and the banks.
  • Report the crime to the Hong Kong Police.
  • If you live in Hong Kong, go directly to the nearest Police station.

In the majority of cases related to Investment fraud, the evidence of a crime is digital evidence, Digitpol can assist with writing a forensic report that details how the fraud took place and the examination of forensic evidence such as digital data, computer forensics and server logs. Digitpol will present your case to the Police and its legal partner can take civil action when required.

To check if a Hong Kong company has a license to trade Securities and Futures or if the company has been published on the Alert List of the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) you can check licensed operators on the website of SFC or the alert list: https://www.sfc.hk/web/EN/alert-list/all.html The information contained on the Alert List is provided as an early warning service to investors but is not a substitute for investors conducting their own due diligence by checking up on a particular entity. 

If you have purchased shares in a HK registered firm and you would like to validate the share certification contact us. If your unsure of an investment offering, you can check if the investment firm has a license to operate or consult with Digitpol to check on your behalf.

More Information is available on the Digitpol HK website, https://digitpol.hk/hong-kong-stock-fraud/

Online safety advice

  • Criminals who commit romance fraud trawl through profiles and piece together information such as wealth and lifestyle, in order to manipulate their victims
  • Police can investigate and help to provide support, but often cannot get the money back
  • It is very simple for fraudsters to cover their tracks by masking IP addresses and using unregistered phone numbers
  • Never send money to someone online you have never met
  • Think twice about posting personal information that could be used to manipulate or bribe you
  • If your asked to pay Tax on the amount sent or on profits or you are asked to send urgent funds, don’t send, stop all communication and ask Digitpol to carry out check before you send.