"Speculating in gold" can really earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a month? A precious metal trading platform that starts with "making a lot of money": soliciting rebates, claiming to have a license from the Shanghai Gold Exchange
Every reporter: Pan Ting Every editor: Zhang Yiming
The ups and downs of gold prices are unpredictable, and the risk of investing in gold is not lower than that of other wealth management products. However, in the "gold investment market", there is a kind of "steady profit without loss, and small whites can also make money" trading. The reporter noticed that recently, the "precious metal trading platform" has been very lively, opening an account to send gifts, free agency fees, high rebates...
"There are only two days left in the gift-giving event, and I will help you open an account by submitting your information. An electronic poster was printed with an introduction to the event, which said "During the event, the contract will be refunded and gifts will be given".
The reporter noticed that this is a "double 11" activity launched by a precious metal trading platform in Hong Kong on the official website, and its staff is active in various social platforms, sparing no effort to publicize, trying to attract more people to open accounts and trade. When its staff explained and answered questions, they also took "speculating in gold and silver" as an example, and said that "you can earn about 3,000 yuan a day", and the commission is hundreds of thousands of yuan a month.
Gold prices hit record highs this year Image source: Straight Flush iFinD
With such a heart-warming benefit, anyone who listens to it is eager to try. What kind of precious metal trading platform is this? Is there any risk? Can it really make so much money? What are the hidden risks behind the high returns? The reporter peeled back the cocoon, and as the investigation gradually deepened, this precious metal trading platform that advertised that it had an international membership license of the Shanghai Gold Exchange Gold and Silver Exchange (self-operated) gradually surfaced.
It is said that someone earns 3,000 a day and a commission of hundreds of thousands a month
With technical support, no fees for opening an account, and continuous income, hearing this description, uninformed people will really think that it is a pie-in-the-sky thing. Under Liu Qing (pseudonym), whether it is trading by himself or pulling customers to earn commissions, it is a promising thing.
However, when describing the identity of the investor, Liu Qing occasionally shows a cautious side, "Being an agent to earn commissions is equal to 0 risk, and there is a risk in investing in this thing, even if the strategy is particularly good, there is still a risk of loss." ”
The process of opening an account is not complicated, you only need to take a photo of your ID card and bank card and send it to Liu Qing, and he will help open an exclusive agent background, and said, "The rebate commission is returned to your account, and the customers who will be pulled in the future to open a trading account also need an exclusive agent link and signed a confidentiality agreement." ”
At the time node of Double 11, Liu Qing's trading platform also launched a "preferential activity", that is, if the customer's deposit does not meet the requirements, the "online" can also enjoy a trading rebate of 78 US dollars / hand, and this rebate condition usually requires the net deposit of the customer under his name to reach a certain amount to enjoy. The reporter learned that "deposit" is the process of putting funds into the market after opening an account for precious metal investment.
Under Liu Qing's introduction, as long as you open an account, you can get a gift blind box from the platform, and this kind of business is very "safe" for the upline, as long as the downline customer trades a lot of gold, the upline can get a rebate of 78 US dollars. In addition, through the relevant "assessment", the number of trading lots reaches a certain standard, and you can also get a subsidy of several thousand dollars.
The reporter noticed that $78 is not the highest trading rebate, and after the quarterly net deposit reaches $150,000 and $300,000, the downline trading gold can get $79 per hand and $80 per hand respectively. If you are trading silver, the rebate will be higher.
According to Liu Qing, the cost of a lot of silver is higher than that of gold, and silver fluctuates less, so customers generally do gold trading. Some of the agents who are offline have regular customers to trade, and these agents "lie down" to earn thousands of yuan every day, and there are powerful agents with large customers and commissions of hundreds of thousands of yuan a month.
In Liu Qing's view, this is a long-term business, and customers trade independently, which will not affect the normal work and life of agents at all.
What kind of precious metal trading platform is this? Is there a risk? As the reporter peeled back the cocoon, this precious metal trading platform that advertised that it had an international membership license of the Shanghai Gold Exchange Gold and Silver Exchange (self-operated) gradually surfaced.
It is advertised as having an international membership license of Shanghai Gold Exchange and is one of the top 10 outstanding precious metal trading platforms in Hong Kong
According to the official website interface given by Liu Qing, Hansheng Group Co., Ltd. is a member of Class AA at No. 208 Hong Kong Gold and Silver Exchange Society, and is one of the top ten outstanding precious metal trading platforms in Hong Kong. It can operate 99 gold, Hong Kong dollar kilo bars, London gold/silver and renminbi kilo bars, all of which are regulated by the laws of Hong Kong.
The reporter noted that the official website also showed that it won awards such as "Top Ten Gold Trading Platforms", "The Most Trustworthy Precious Metals Investment Platform for Chinese Investors", and "AAA Credit Enterprise in China's Financial Services Industry".
In addition, according to the brochure shown by Liu Qing, it also has an international membership license for the Shanghai Gold Exchange Gold and Silver Exchange (self-operated). At the same time, the first "insurance model" provides dual guarantees of capital security and transaction security, and is underwritten by a well-known insurance group in China and verified by one of the four major accounting firms, but does not show the name of the specific insurance company or accounting firm.
The reporter noticed that its brochure also claimed to have the advantages of authoritative certification, A+NDD, barrier-free transactions, unlimited non-agricultural products, ultra-low cost, and celebrity confidence recommendation. He also said that customers only need $10 to trade London silver on the official website, and $100 to trade London gold, and said that investors bring gold investment opportunities with very low thresholds and small profits.
According to information on its official website, the precious metals trading platform's partners include a number of large state-owned banks and joint-stock banks, and it said that it cooperated with celebrities to make movies.
It is worth noting that for the "Hong Kong Gold and Silver Exchange Society No. 208 AA Member" introduced on its official website, the reporter consulted an industry insider who had engaged in this kind of business in Hong Kong, and the other party said that the Gold and Silver Exchange Society is not licensed.
The reporter noted that the Postal Savings Bank and the Bank of China have issued "Risk Reminders on Staying Away from Illegal Foreign Exchange Transactions".
Among them, the announcement of the Postal Savings Bank shows that at present, foreign exchange margin transactions through online platforms have not been approved, and domestic individuals have cross-border overseas purchases and direct cross-border securities investment, and the relevant foreign exchange business belongs to the business under the capital account, which is managed in accordance with the convertibility process and has not yet been clearly opened. Directly or indirectly carrying out or participating in the above-mentioned related foreign exchange business, suspected of violating regulations. Please raise your awareness of risk prevention and beware of property damage.
According to the announcement of the Bank of China, at present, the mainland has not approved any institution to carry out or act as an agent to carry out foreign exchange margin transactions in China, and it is illegal to carry out and participate in foreign exchange margin transactions without authorization. The purchase of overseas real estate by domestic individuals and the direct investment in cross-border securities are all businesses under the capital account that have not yet been opened, and the direct or indirect development and participation in the above-mentioned related foreign exchange business are suspected of violating the rules.
Shanghai Gold Exchange: Investments in the name of individuals are basically fake
Is the international membership license of the Shanghai Gold Exchange Gold and Silver Exchange (self-operated) held by the company true or false? Is the "license" of the Hong Kong Gold and Silver Exchange Society regarded as a license?
The reporter interviewed the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission on whether the company has been filed with the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission and obtained the corresponding license.
The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission replied in the email that "information on SFC-licensed institutions and persons is available to the public", and the reporter searched for the above-mentioned companies through the website, showing that there were no names in the register that matched the entered companies.
In addition, whether the above-mentioned precious metal exchange has been filed in the Shanghai Gold Exchange and obtained the corresponding license, the reporter consulted the Shanghai Gold Exchange as an investor, and its staff told reporters: investment in the name of individuals (precious metal trading platform) is basically fake, because personal words can not be done now, basically closed almost, and it is unlikely that anyone will let individuals buy, even if there is no relevant thing for the time being, it is also to be closed. According to him, it can only be purchased in the name of the company at their member unit (i.e., the member unit of the Shanghai Gold Exchange).
The reporter searched for international members under the "Member List and Query" column on the official website of the Shanghai Gold Exchange, but did not find the name of Liu Qing's company. There are also doubts about the "International Member of the Gold and Silver Exchange Society (Self-operated)" shown in Liu Qing's brochure, and the name of the member shown on the official website of Shanghai Gold Exchange is "Hong Kong Gold and Silver Exchange Society", which is inconsistent with the brochure.
Lawyer: It is illegal for any unauthorized institution to carry out foreign exchange margin transactions without authorization
In addition, the reporter noticed that a risk education tip on the official website of the Shanghai Gold Exchange in 2018 also mentioned that with the development of the national economy and the increase of people's wealth, the public's demand for precious metal investment has increased rapidly, but due to the lack of understanding of formal trading channels, some criminals have the opportunity to set up a scam to open a casino in the name of setting up an exchange, harming the interests of investors. CCTV disclosed the establishment of a gambling scam in the illegal silver market and the infringement of investors' rights and interests, which caused great repercussions in the society. It can be seen that it has become a top priority to further protect the legitimate rights and interests of investors, guide investors to invest rationally and prudently, and effectively screen the harm of the illegal trading market.
The main forms of illegal gold trading companies are: the form of an agency company of an overseas institution in China; a company registered in China solicits customers under the banner of a branch or office of a member of a gold trading market in Hong Kong, London, etc., in the mainland; a domestic company sets up its own trading platform to carry out illegal gold online trading; engages in illegal gold trading in the name of acting as a member of a domestic precious metal exchange or a member agent in the name of acting as an agent for silver, palladium and other precious metals; and develops agents. It also mentions telemarketing, recruitment of traders, online advertising, chatting, etc., as a means of soliciting customers by illegal gold trading companies.
Specifically, the main forms of illegal gold trading companies are as follows:
(1) The form of an agency company of an overseas institution in China. Such companies usually act as agents of Hong Kong or London spot gold trading market members in China, such as "XX Representative Office of a Country (Hong Kong)" or "XX Investment Consulting Company", etc., requiring investors to exchange their trading margin into US dollars and remit it to their designated overseas bank accounts to engage in gold trading, and the trading leverage is usually 100 times. This type of agency does not handle the client's funds and only makes a profit by charging a fee.
(2) Companies registered in China solicit customers under the banner of branches or offices of members of gold trading markets such as Hong Kong and London in the Mainland. Such companies require investors to remit funds in US dollars or RMB to designated accounts (and some even private accounts) in China. The trading software system provided by such companies to customers is not actually connected with the formal international gold market trading system, but is only a virtual market system, and its transaction is actually a bet between the company and the customer. In the process of trading, customers are often required to act as agents, or guide customers to operate frequently, or by interrupting the network server or delaying the order, resulting in investors being unable to place orders and transactions in time, so that customers suffer losses.
(3) Domestic companies set up their own trading platforms to carry out illegal gold online transactions. Most of these companies develop their own trading software and a set of trading rules in the name of physical gold sales, and provide investors with gold trading in the form of market makers. The first is to make a profit by charging the spread, the second is to sit in the bank and bet against the customer, the third is to manipulate the delivery of gold, and the fourth is to deceive the customer's account name and password to operate on behalf of the customer, and promise to make a profit. Once there is a problem, the company will put the responsibility and economic loss on the investor, and abscond with the money itself.
(4) Engaging in illegal gold trading in the name of acting as a member of a domestic precious metal exchange or a member agent in the name of acting as an agent for silver, palladium and other precious metal business. The first is to recommend the external electronic trading with London gold as the subject to the customer; the second is to engage in gold wealth management business on behalf of the customer, requiring the customer to entrust the company with full authority to invest in gold, and promise the customer a fixed income much higher than the bank deposit interest rate in the same period, or share the investment and wealth management income with the customer according to a certain proportion.
There are four main ways for illegal gold trading companies to solicit customers:
(1) Development of agents. At present, one of the important means for all kinds of illegal gold trading companies to attract customers is through the development of branches or agents, which will help them find customers.
(2) Telemarketing. After obtaining the customer's phone number, hire a special person to carry out telemarketing in a wide net, using professional teacher guidance or promising high returns as bait to lure investors into being deceived.
(3) Recruit traders. After a short period of money speculation training, it is proposed that if the applicant makes a profit of 5% per month for several consecutive months, he or she can become a full-time employee. In order to get a job, candidates will invest their own money, but it is often impossible for candidates to make a profit for months on end and fall for scams.
(4) Online advertising and chatting. Insert advertisements on well-known websites, forum posts, QQ group chats, etc., to attract investors' attention and lure customers to be deceived.
Liu Panpan, director of the legal affairs department of securities and investment funds at Jingshi Law Firm, also told reporters that in 2018, the central bank, the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange made it clear that the People's Bank of China, the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the former China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange and their branches did not approve any institution to carry out or act as agents to carry out foreign exchange deposit business in China. According to the Notice on Strictly Investigating and Dealing with Illegal Foreign Exchange Futures and Foreign Exchange Margin Trading Activities (Zheng Jian Fa Zi [1994] No. 165), it is illegal for any unauthorized institution to carry out foreign exchange margin trading, and it is also illegal for a customer (unit or individual) to entrust an unauthorized institution to conduct foreign exchange margin trading (regardless of whether it is in foreign currency or RMB as margin). Therefore, it is illegal for any institution to carry out and act as an agent for foreign exchange margin business in China.
National Business Daily