Scams are increasing because scammers are getting smarter and people want to get rich quickly. Scammers reap the benefit of this trap such people by showing high-return investment schemes. Now the question is if you fall victim to this then how to report trading scams?
And above all, ‘How can I get my money back from the scammer.’
Well, it depends upon many parameters like:
- The nature & type of scam
- The gap between scam & time to report.
- Proof & documents one have
Let’s first consider the type of trading scams which led to your financial losses:
- Trading Tips Scam
Most of the trading scams started from Cross Messaging App like WhatsApp & Telegram. Now whether it is authorized or unauthorized research analyst, such cases can be reported to SEBI. However, in case of registered research analyst you can lodge a complaint in SCORES. On the other hand, in case of unregistered advisor you can report it by sending an email to SEBI.
Now in both these cases, it is important to report the case on time. Also, it is important to draft the case properly by attaching all the valid proof & documents.
Along with this, regular follow-ups mails and calls made by regulatory authorities to do further validation & investigation of the scam. - Clone Trading App
Now, in this case the scammer generally loot your capital by providing you with the link to a fake trading app which is actually a clone of the existing top-notch trading apps in India.
Thinking it to be legitimate, people add funds which eventually gets blocked.
Now in such cases, SEBI does not participate actively. So, the way to get your money back is to report the case in Cyber Crime. - Stock Broker Fraud
Most of the time, there is an involvement of stock brokers or sub-brokers in certain fraudulent activities, too. Some of those are unregulated advisory, account handling in the stock market, etc, which leads to heavy losses to their clients.
Now, most of the time, victims do not raise it as they are not aware of the regulation and also have little or no idea of where to complain against stock broker.
In India, there are different portals where you lodge your complaint, and in case of a broker, you can follow a step-by-step process, and in case you do not get justice or a complete resolution, then you can apply for arbitration in exchange. - Ponzi Scheme Investment Scam
Now in these cases, scammers generally approach a low risk high returns scheme along with guaranteed returns. In such cases, one can approach and file a complaint in Cyber Crime and reach out to higher related authorities.
Now after you report trading scams the action and investigation depends upon the difference in time between the scam & reporting time. Consider a Cyber Crime, if you file a complaint within 3-7 days then the chances of recovery of 100% of lost amount is much higher. However, any delay in reporting might leads to no recovery of losses.
Other than this, the time of resolution of cases in SEBI & Stock Exchanges depends on proof & documents submitted.
In the case of a stock broker, the time of resolution is less. One can get a recovery of losses by attending mutual meetings arranged by stock exchanges.
In short you can get your money back after being scammed by following the right procedure and documentation. Recently our team helped in recovery of losses to one of the victims who lost money in an account handling scam.
