Securities Arbitration Lawyers Blog

Binary options have become a very powerful player in the financial sector. The reason for this is that they are a highly unregulated instrument and investors can make, at times, substantial gains. In fact, binary options are one of the financial transactions that is the closest to gambling in the financial marketplace today. When trying to understand binary options and what their corresponding risks are, it is wise to look at the conversation below:

A Basic Break Down

A binary option is an options contract where the profit paid out depends completely on the outcome of a yes/no question that is connected to the projected price of a specific asset and whether it will increase or decrease below a certain amount. What makes these particular options tricky to deal with is that the investor makes a profit or losses 100% of.  When the binary option expires, the current holder has no right to buy or sell. That said, when the binary option expires, the option holder gets the previously determined amount of cash or nothing.

In recent years, binary options have become a very popular tool to utilize for making substantial returns on investment. Given that this practice is rather new in comparison to traditional investment options, binary options still have a great deal of regulation to face in terms of protecting consumers from making investment transactions with these companies that they should not be. Where the SEC faces a great challenge in the United States is trying to ascertain how they can effectively regulate the binary options companies that are not based within the United States along with what measures they need to pass within the United States in order to regulate American entities as well.  Many bogus binary options firms operate from Israel or other foreign countries.

A Brief Overview of the SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s purpose is to promote fair and just markets within the United States to protect American investors. They regulate many sectors of the financial investment field in order to enforce strict regulations in the financial sector and to also prosecute those that violate their financial regulations. The SEC also makes an effort to protect Americans from the fraudulent actions of foreign-owned financial companies. This is particularly true with regards to binary options.  Also, the SEC may bring fraud charges against a company.  However, most victims need to retain their own counsel to recover their losses.

Since there is not a great deal known about binary options fraud for the average consumer, it is no surprise that there is also very little known about how to approach a potential dispute regarding binary options fraud and what potential legal remedies are available. That said, there are options for individuals that have lost capital due to binary options fraud. When contemplating what legal course of action that you should take as a binary options fraud victim, it is best to consider the advice below:

How the Process Works

1. Research Attorneys With Experience Recovering Investment Losses and Binary Options: It is highly recommended that you research experienced counsel. Our attorneys frequently represent investors in claims for securities and investment fraud.  Our lawyers frequently represent our clients in state or federal courts as well as securities arbitration.  Typically working on a contingency fee basis, we only get paid if we help you recover money.  We will not ask you to advance any fees or costs.

Unfortunately, binary options fraud victims have seemed to multiply rapidly in recent years. The reason for this is that many binary options firms have popped up both domestically and internationally with the objective of capitalizing on the lack of initial regulation on the binary options financial trading sector. For consumers that do not have a strong awareness of the financial sector, may find themselves falling prey to this scam as it has odds for investment returns that are truly too good to be true. If you have been a victim of such a scheme, it is wise to speak up and recover your investment.

What Potential Courses of Action Are Available

It can be daunting to try to ascertain what you can potentially recover from a binary options claim. Some popular forms of recovery of capital that have been successful are listed below:

Binary options are a trading mechanism that have taken many governmental agencies by surprise. The reason for this is that, in many cases, they appeared out of thin air. Due to the wide variety of financial transactions that are appearing on the Internet, it has become increasingly difficult in order to regulate how consumers can be protected. One of the pioneers of binary options protection to consumers has been the United States. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the governmental agency that protects consumers from fraud circumstances of this nature. Due to the influx of fraud in the financial trading sector, the SEC has subsequently created the CFTC in order to handle regulation and recommendations with the objective of protecting Americans consumers that have fallen prey to many unfortunate investment schemes.

The CFTC’s Role

The Commodities Futures Trading Commission’s Office of Consumer Outreach (CFTC) issues warnings regarding fraudulent schemes that involve binary options and their various, yet diverse, trading platforms. Many of these schemes have historically refused to credit the consumer’s accounts, have withheld fund reimbursement, identity theft, and the tampering with software to generate more losing trades than winning ones. On a regular basis, the CFTC issues a report and warnings regarding the latest in fraud in the financial sector. Some of the most typical recommendations that are reported to the CFTC are mentioned below.

Binary Options Fraud Attorneys

The Internet has opened up consumers to a great deal of freedom in terms of what financial institutions and companies they are able to invest their capital with. With this diversification, there has also been a pool of risk that has opened up as well. These days, binary options are still an item in the financial investment sector that many consumers are not aware of if they have not studied the financial sector extensively. It is wise for those considering investing to work with an experienced broker that is licensed under U.S. regulatory bodies to help make sound investment decisions.

Background on Binary Options