RM4,000 Lost in HF Markets Impersonation Scam After 41x Profit Lure

Every trader wants to make money through investment, but in this risky financial market, not every trading can be profitable. The existence of scammers has made the path to fortune even more dangerous.

Last month, Huzaini from Malaysia joined a telegram group called “HFM MARKETS MALAYSIA” by chance after receiving an invitation from her friend.

At first, Huzaini watched other group members send photos of cash and talk about “withdrawals”, she did not quite understand what was happening. It was only after the introduction by an administrator that she realized the others were discussing a ‘lucrative’ investment opportunity.

_{The scammers pretend to be real investors}

_{The Telegram group and account used by scammers}

The administrator sent Huzaini a promotional poster that clearly stated how much the investor would need to invest, and how much it would bring the investor in return, just like goods with “price tag”.

_{Scammers promise unrealistic returns}

In addition, photos of an event were attached to the poster, with people in the photos holding flags with the logo of well-known Forex broker HF Markets, which implied that the investment scheme was provided by a legitimate financial service firm.

Lured by the scammer, Huzaini decided to invest RM2,000 in anticipation of the promised RM64,000 return.

Just a few hours later, the administrator sent her a screenshot showing that her trading account had earned a staggering RM197,000! Huzaini only had to pay RM2,000 in brokerage fees to withdraw.

Believing that was the whole process of this investment, she waited for the withdrawal after paying the brokerage fee. However, she was surprised when the administrator asked her to pay more before she could get her money.

Huzaini realized something was wrong and told her husband. She then realized that she had encountered an investment scam.

This is a typical investment scam on Telegram. The scammer quietly invites potential victims to an investment group, falsely claims to be offering a lucrative investment opportunity, and arranges accomplices to play a show, pretending that they are making a lot of money. When the victims think they get a good fortune, the scammer takes the ‘profit’ as bait and makes up subterfuges to ask for more payments.

Victims who are lured by the return often pay as required but never get any penny back. By the time they realize that they have been cheated, the money given to fraudsters is impossible be recover.