What Is a Boiler Room Scam – And How to Smell a Rat

What is a boiler room scam and how to protect yourself from getting ripped off?

To illustrate it, here is a true story about a businessman (let’s name him Kevin) who got scammed big time by the boiler room fraudsters.

Please read the story because it gives you a pretty clear picture of how heartless con-men use boiler room scams to harass and rip off innocent people.

[Sidebar: If you are not interested in scams, check out THIS instead! You’re going to like this.]

Here’s how it happened:

Kevin had his own company, a few expensive sports cars, and did financially exceptionally well. He was a bright man, followed business news, and thus did not classify as one of those ignorant (and therefore highly vulnerable) dream-chasers.

One day Kevin got a cold call from a smooth-talking ‘broker’ who persuaded him to invest in currency options. The broker said that from these options, it was possible to make two or three times the initial investment.

To prove his case, he asked Kevin to take a piece of paper and do the calculations. And guess what? It worked indeed and added up. Awesome!

Next, the conman asked if Kevin was ready to invest £10,000.

Kevin took the time to think about it and even asked his friend (who, by the way, smelled the rat and suggested, “Stay away”). About a week later, the broker called Kevin again and said that the Euro had fallen (as he had told him before). If Kevin had listened to him, he would have already made £18,000 clear profit.

Kevin checked the numbers and was convinced – everything worked like a clockwork. So he decided to place the deal. A few days later, the broker called again, telling that on the ‘trading floor,’ things were getting wild and that there was an excellent opportunity for a set of options at a very competitive price. This, however, required from Kevin an additional investment of about £250,000.

Kevin refused. Then, as you might suspect, the price dropped quickly, and five minutes later, Kevin agreed to invest an additional £150,000.

A couple of days later, according to Kevin’s calculations, he was up by roughly £30,000. And then, a few days later, the reality hit him like a sledgehammer to the head – He found a fatal mistake in his paperwork. The ‘broker’ knew about the error, of course, but did not tell him.

Long story short –

…No happy ending for Kevin, the poor misguided soul. He lost all his investments.

There are countless heartbreaking stories like the one above. And you don’t need to have hundreds of thousands of dollars, to begin with. Also, it does not even matter how much you lose. When you are conned out a significant amount of money, it can have (and often has) devastating effects on both of you and your family as well.

When you read these stories, it’s just heart-wrenching. They will make you cry. Seriously!

Much Safer Way to Make Legitimate Money Online

Whatever the reason might be why you want to make money online…

…Be it your financial freedom.. or more quality time with your kids and spouse.. or security in old age.. desire to travel the world.. more time for your hobbies or sports.. Or to help you pay your bills, bless your grandchildren (if you have them), etc.

You know the “why.” I can only confirm and encourage you…

…YES! It is absolutely possible to make side money (or even a second income) online. AND it is possible to do it WITHOUT getting involved with ugly scams that drag you into a major disaster.

If you are interested…

…Here’s a way better ALTERNATIVE to all kinds of boiler room scams. It will help you make $1200+ a month online. And these testimonials are proof.

It’s FREE to get started, too (no credit card required). You’ll like that part…

 

What Is a Boiler Room?

A boiler room scam (sometimes called a ‘Share scam’) is a type of fraud in which fraudsters cold call potential victims and persuade them to invest their money into something that they insist promise very high returns.

The term itself (boiler room) comes from the fact that these scams involve high-pressure selling and increasingly sophisticated rip-off tactics. Thus, it is analogous to the conditions in the boiler and its surrounding room.

Many useful techniques work exceptionally well (more about that later). As you might expect, scammers fill their coffers while unaware victims pay through their nose.

Try this out for size:

The North American Securities Administrators Association estimates that investors lose $10 billion a year (it’s about $1 million per hour) to investment fraud promoted over the telephone alone.

Sickening!

How Does a Boiler Room Work?

As I wrote, the boiler room frauds involve high-pressure selling. They use sales offices where salespeople have to follow carefully prepared scripts.

But for that, they obviously need your phone number (or any other way to contact you). There are different ways to achieve that. They can do it by asking it by email. By the way, I often get emails like the one below:

These (often identical) scam emails always come from separate addresses, though (which is a red light for me).

Another option to get your phone number is to ask it in the signup form:

Please remember, the initial investment is only a bite and, therefore, relatively small. It is meant to hook and draw you in.

After that, the fraudulent salesmen follow up on these unaware victims and convince them to invest more significant sums of money (or buy way more expensive products).

The ugly part here is that when they contact you, they already know your financial situation and how much you can fork out (there are different ways how they get that information). As a result, they can make you an offer that you will find realistic and attainable.

Apparently, this fact alone makes you much more vulnerable to their abuse.

And remember, there is almost always some ‘urgency factor‘ involved in the scheme – to get you to act immediately.

After you have swallowed their hook, line, and sinker (= transferred your initial investment to their account), you are like a salmon on a fishing line:

How?

Wait a few days, and the charming fraudster will show you what a juicy profit your investment has already made. And to bring it home, they may even send a dividend payment of a few hundred dollars to your bank account

…Hey! You just have made easy money! The system works indeed, and you have discovered a secret treasure trove.

They may even contact you to congratulate and check whether you had received the payment. After that, there is a second wave coming – a way juicier offer. This time, though, the required minimum investment is 10 to 20 times higher.

Again, the price is realistic, but it surely hurts. That’s how they have designed it for you. However, because the first deal went so well, then your tank of self-control goes from full to empty. The scammers go for a kill, and you fall prey to temptation.

The result? You will lose everything. It’s not rare when people lose all their savings or even their family home.

Even worse. The harassment does not stop here.

After you have been ripped off and victimized, the fraudsters sell your details to other scammers who take their turn in carpet bombing you with new ‘lucrative’ offers. The follow-up scam may be related to the previous fraud – they may offer to help you get your money back or buy back the shares after you pay an administration fee. Or it may be completely separate.

It’s beyond words…

Sick and tired of scams? Are you looking for a legit way out of the rat race? Then this is for you…

Do it now. Because, as Benjamin Suarez famously said, ” if you are an individual who wants to make a significant achievement in life, your chances of doing it while working for somebody else are remote.”

What do These Boiler Room Scams Promote?

Well, they promote everything that promises heavens to you. Here are some of the most common examples (or niches):

• shares (that’s why boiler room scams are also called share scams.)
• bonds
• binary options (for example, check this, this, and this)
• diamonds
• gold
• real estate
• art
• betting
• wine
• coaching
• software

What these scam artists usually do is that they sell you worthless, overpriced or even non-existent products (be it shares, diamond, coaching, whatever)

Criminals use every single trick in their tool bag – virtual offices, operating from overseas locations and using offshore bank accounts, fake receptionists, fake testimonials, misleading claims of high returns, a false sense of urgency, threatening, etc., etc., etc.

Frankly, the money invested into these useless companies (old shelf companies with no complaint history), fake diamonds, or overpriced information products will never be likely to make any profit for their investors.

Boiler Room Sales Techniques

Let me list some of the leading sales techniques used by boiler room fraudsters.

1. Upselling

As you have seen above, these schemes always work like that – the initial bite is small and usually delivers. That is designed so – to make your greed glands salivate.

2. High-Pressure Sales Tactics

Expect extremely high-pressure sales pitches – all intended to initiate and close the sale and get you into investing vast sums of money in sham products.

2. Black-mailing

Here’s an example of how scammers used black-mailing to make their victims pay:

As you can suspect, these are mostly empty threats. The big trouble for you, though, is that you don’t know whether you deal with criminals. That’s why people take these threats seriously. And pay until it bleeds.

3. Cloning

Cloning is a sophisticated twist on the scam where the scammers ‘clone’ famous and respected companies.

How do they do it?

Simple. The fraudsters use almost identical brand names, logos, mock-websites, email addresses, phone numbers, and even business cards. Thus, when they contact you, they claim to be from a fully regulated and licensed financial institution.

And if you are not careful enough, you will surely fall into their trap.

For example, Skipton Asset Management pretends to be a member of the Skipton Building Society Group (one of the largest building societies in the UK.)

Not only that. Scammers even clone official regulators for financial services firms and financial markets – such as FCA in the UK.

How do they do it?

The same way they clone private companies. They use fake phone numbers that are similar to the conventional ones. When speaking with their victims, they adopt a similar or the same name as genuine consultants. They use impressive job titles, technical jargon, etc.

Then, after ripping off their victims, they call them as official regulators. They provide fake consultation and encourage the victims to accept the defeat – nothing can’t be done anymore, the money is lost and better if they keep their embarrassing ‘investment’ secret.

You see! A smart way to prevent official complaints and lawsuits, right?

Utterly disgusting!

How to Spot Boiler Room Frauds

Remember this: If the offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Here is a shortlist of warning signs on how to recognize boiler room scams:

1. It is a cold call.
2. The company has an overseas location
3. It has an impressive name and convincing website
4. It promises very high returns
5. ‘You cannot lose’ guarantees (see here)
6. You must act at once
7. You must pay upfront
8. You must give them your phone number, bank details, and/or your credit card data.
9. You must keep details confidential

If You Have Got Scammed

If you think you have been a victim of a Boiler Room scam (in fact, any fraud), or you believe that you have information about suspected fraud, it is highly recommended to report.

There are different ways you can report a scam (I list some of the options):

• Action Fraud (you can also call 0300 123 2040)
• National Fraud Authority (NFA)
• Financial Services Authority (helpline 0300 500 500)
• Companies House
• Get Safe Online

How to Protect Yourself From Boiler Room Scams

Here is a list of some cautionary steps to take:

1. Beware of offers that appear “too good to be true.”
2. If you want to invest money, it is way better to research, find, and contact a reputable company than respond to cold calls.
3. Ask the salesperson as many questions as you can. Also, ask for written materials.
4. Check the background and details of the one who makes the offer.
5. Never give out your sensitive personal information (bank and credit card details) out over the phone or by email
6. Take your time to make a decision. Remember, a false sense of urgency is almost always coded into the script.
7. Keep any paperwork you are sent (emails, etc.)
8. Be aware of bank accounts that are based overseas. Also, be mindful of bank accounts that have different names to the companies that are presented.

 

If you’d rather make real money than blow your lifetime of savings… Why not try this? Just get over there and start learning the good stuff.

Don’t wait the right moment to get started. It never arrives. Start whenever. Now.

 

What About You

Thank you for taking your time and reading through the review. I hope you found it useful and got the information that you were looking for.

Do you have any first-hand experience with boiler room scams that you want to share?

Please drop a comment into the comment section below, and I will return with a response.

Stay safe!

Egon (EgonSarvReviews.com)