Hanfa once again urges citizens to be cautious when offered online trading by phone
According to the information available to Hanfa, Croatian citizens are often contacted by telephone by unknown natural persons offering trading in financial instruments (e.g., CFDs, stocks) or cryptocurrencies via online trading platforms. Since this can often involve some form of fraud, Hanfa once again urges citizens to exercise caution when communicating with such persons and recommends the following:
- Ask the person who called you how they got your phone number. If you're not happy with the answer or don't get it, end the conversation.
- If you are not interested in trading financial instruments or cryptocurrencies, or have no knowledge of it at all, do not hesitate to decline the offer. Such sales agents are known to use aggressive sales tactics, for example:
- They assure you that you will definitely earn money and that “now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to trade and earn.
- They tell you that there is a "promotion" at the moment that "you need to use immediately" because it will end in "a few hours/days".
- They persuade you to pay a small amount of money and see for yourself how “easy it is to earn”.
- They urge you to trade regardless of the fact that you have no experience in trading, and claim that you will "get a mentor" who will help you.
- They are very persistent; they call you several times a day and do not take no for an answer.
- They present themselves by names and surnames that are popular and difficult to check, and they mostly come from the Serbian-speaking area.
In these cases, you should not enter into a business relationship with such a company. It is most likely fraudulent.
If you have been contacted by sales agents, and you are interested in online trading, first check in the following Hanfa registers whether such company is authorised to provide services in the territory of Croatia:
· Cryptoassets i.e. virtual assets.
If you cannot find the company that contacted you in any of the registers, do not enter into a business relationship with it. This is especially true for companies “registered” in exotic destinations (e.g., Seychelles, Vanuatu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). Such areas are known for weaker regulation and companies there are often associated with some forms of fraud.
If you are already in a business relationship with a brokerage company, here are some red flags that may indicate financial fraud:
- Their employees call you frequently, at their initiative, and tell you which accounts to open and at what price.
- They constantly urge you to pay additional, ever-increasing amounts of money.
- Your "mentor" keeps calling you from a phone number that is not from Croatia and this is the only way they communicate with you (i.e., there is no written trace of communication).
- They can't be reached at the phone numbers they called you from.
- The person you communicate with and who is assigned to you as a “mentor” changes frequently.
- They stop answering when you make a withdrawal request or when your open accounts start losing money; that's when they “take a vacation” or “end up in the hospital” and you don't hear from them for days.
- They ask you to pay extra money for “tax purposes” before they release your funds to you.
- They become aggressive and rude when you seek answers to even the simplest questions (especially when it comes to paying off money).
If this is the case, you should ask for the payment of your funds and end the business relationship. However, if the company is not authorised to provide brokerage services and is not from Croatia, if it is from an exotic island, or if you do not even know the name or registered office of the company, it is most likely fraudulent. You should report it to the police. That is why it is especially important to check who you are actually doing business with before entering into a business relationship with a company online, or before depositing funds.
Sometimes even the brokerage companies that are authorised to operate in the territory of Croatia, i.e., are listed in the above-mentioned registers, do not act in the best interest of their clients. If you recognize any of the red flags mentioned above, do not enter into a business relationship with such a company and contact Hanfa to report such behaviour.
If in doubt, you can always contact Hanfa at the following email addresses and phone number:
01/6173-200
It should be noted that Hanfa has released a number of notices and various educational materials regarding financial fraud, some of which are available via these links:
HANFA - Warnings for consumers
Online presentation: International Fraud Awareness Week (youtube.com)
Online presentation "Fraud in financial markets and cryptomarket" (youtube.com)
Fraud in financial markets (youtube.com)
https://www.hanfa.hr/media/kzvneqte/hanfa-vodic-2024.pdf
