Fraud?

[jamesrdelane]

Hi all

It has recently come to light that my father in law has been investing in a company in the US.
I will not mention them now.

They cold called him and it transpires they have been doing the same to other elderly people.


They are selling him options to buy stock (shares?) (sorry I am not very clued in to this stuff) for after they float on the Nasdaq..


They have contacted him on the phone numerous times and have persuaded him to transfer money to their account. I think he may have sent them up to 100,000.

I found a warning about them on the Swedish financial regulatory website.
Nothing specific just saying that they have been contacting Swedish people over the phone to invest.

They say that American people are not allowed invest at this stage but due to some loophole foreign people can, hence my father in law and a few other Irish people.

I have contacted IFSRA but the guy said it was outside his remit and to contact the relevant US regulatory body.

I don't even know where to start with this!

Does this sound strange to anyone else?

What should I try next.

I know I need to call them but I don't know what to ask them to try and find out if this is legitimate.

I will name them if you ask me personally.


James Delaney

 

[ClubMan]

Does this sound strange to anyone else?

Yes - it sounds line a boiler room scam. Google here on Askaboutmoney and elsewhere about these. Most likely the only thing that can be done now is to cut his losses and break off all communication with them. I would not be surprised if the €100K is gone and he will have almost no chance of getting it back.

 

[LDFerguson]

Unfortunately I'm inclined to agree with ClubMan that your father-in-law has fallen victim to a boiler room scam such as this one.

He should contact his local Garda station.

Do a search on the Financial Regulator website for "boiler".