The French Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is cautioning the public on trading bots in the Forex sector. The AMF states these are not authorized platforms and they frequently target French overseas departments and territories.
The AMF states that it has recently seen an uptick in complaints from both retail investors and institutions.
The regulator notes that some offers promise “unrealistic rates of return,” citing an example of 5% to 15% per month or up to 400% per year. The platforms claim these returns are available due to the efficacy of “automatic trading robots.” These bots, of course, come with a cost – frequently a subscription model that may cost thousands or hundreds of thousands of Euros. As part of the trap, deposits, and withdrawals are said to be made only in crypto-assets.
At the same time, users are encouraged to recruit new members while generating affiliate income in a marketing scheme.
The AMF stresses that only companies authorized as investment services providers in Europe are allowed to offer brokerage services such as automated or non-automated Forex trading.
The AMF added that it has taken several measures to put a stop to the activities of these unauthorized entities.