Decoding the fraud behind binary trading options

Heavily regulated or banned in much of the developed world, shady binary trading companies are targeting developing economies. And making a killing.

Nikhil Varma

Bengaluru

21 July 2020

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An advertisement starts playing the moment you launch the Facebook app on your mobile phone. A story plays out, of a boy making it big with a simple investment, filled with over the top visuals and screechy voiceovers.

Nine times out of ten, businessman Sikander Khan would have ignored the ad and moved on. But that day in February, sitting in his office in Abuja, Nigeria, he clicked on the ad and downloaded the app it was raving about.

Eight months later, that split-second decision has set him back by over Rs 6 lakh and has forced him to spend more time, energy and money, trying to recover his initial investment. So far, without any luck.

Almost 8,000 km away, in a small town in Gujarat, during the pandemic-induced lockdown in India in March, sales manager Shubam Agarwal came across a similar ad promising instant returns. All he needed to do is vote up or down on Olymp Trade for easy returns on a small investment. One boy, the ad claimed, came out of poverty and

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