Amman, Jan. 1 (Petra)-- The Cybercrime Unit has renewed its repeated warnings against dealing with fake and unlicensed trading platforms that lure victims with promises of fast and guaranteed profits.

The unit confirmed that it continues to receive complaints from individuals who have fallen victim to online financial fraud after accessing fake trading platforms through advertisements on social media.

According to the unit, operators of these platforms most of whom are based outside the Kingdom initially deceive victims by showing them profits more than once, encouraging them to invest larger amounts. Once the victims increase their investments, the fraudsters steal their funds and shut down the platforms.

The unit also warned that these suspicious platforms and pages publish false news stories while using the logos and branding of licensed news outlets to create a false sense of credibility and build trust among potential victims.

It added that investigations into some of these platforms revealed they are run by fraudsters based in Southeast Asian countries, which complicates investigations and makes the recovery of stolen funds nearly impossible.

The Cybercrime Unit stressed the importance of not engaging with any financial trading platform before verifying its legality and licensing through the Securities Commission.

It emphasized that any platform claiming to offer fast and high profits should be considered fraudulent, and urged the public to avoid dealing with such platforms or downloading their applications.

//Petra// MF