GPAK Has Been Investigated by the Police

As the financial market with the most frequent transactions, the Forex market is favored by global investors due to its high efficiency, liquidity and flexibility. However, many illegal brokers also lurk around on this lucrative market, attracting investors with appealing yet misleading advertisement such as “starting trading with only US$5” and “speedy deposit and withdrawal”, or promising investors so-called “bonus” for successfully inviting others to open account at the platform. But behind the attractive “high profits” claimed by brokers, there are often great risks or even traps.

As one of the victims suffering such broker scams, Mr. Wang reported GPAK to WikiFX and shared his experience of being defrauded to warn other investors against the illegal Forex broker.

Complainant: Mr. Wang

Forex broker: GPAK

Broker website: http://www.gpakcn.com/

Time of opening account: February, 2019

Time of withdrawal: June 20th, 2019

Withdrawal status: in process

Customer service: no response

Website status: inaccessible

Event recap

I opened an account on GPAK in February, 2019 under the recommendation of a friend and made 2 deposits through Alipay. From February to June, I managed to make some profits which added up with the initial deposit to US$3,503.62.

I once contacted the customer service in April to withdraw, but was advised to wait, as he claimed my request won’t be processed during the May Day holiday. On June 20th, I was informed that my application had been approved. But strangely enough, my trading account showed the application remained in process and I still didn’t receive the money a week later. When I tried to log in my GPAK account, I found the website was no longer accessible and the customer service didn’t reply any more.

Case study

First persuade investors to deposit through “acquaintance’s recommendation”, and then postpone their withdrawal applications to prepare for escaping, which is an old trick of illegal brokers.

In Mr. Wang’s case, GPAK first got Mr. Wang to deposit through the marketing strategy of “acquaintance’s recommendation” and further lured him into making more investments with attractive profits. When Mr. Wang tried to withdraw, the customer service began to pull up all kinds of excuses such as “withdrawal can’t be processed during the holiday” in order to postpone withdrawal and perhaps win themselves more time for running away.

Case summary

As more Forex scams have been exposed, the illegal brokers also become more sophisticated in their tricks. We conclude the following tips based on Mr. Wang’s case:

1. Investors should always check a broker’s qualification and stay prudent about the recommendations of others, even from your friends.

2. Think twice when you seem to be profiting and want to double down your deposit, as no investment comes without risks.

3. Asset safety should always be your priority. Only deposits made through UnionPay or in escrow are under the regulation of the People’s Bank of China, and there’s still a chance of getting the money back even if you’re defrauded. However, if the deposit is made through Alipay, WeChat Pay or personal transfer, investors risk suffering great loss.

Conclusion

According to the information on WikiFX App, the licenses from FCA(UK) and NFA(US) which GPAK claims to hold are suspected to be cloned, while its AR license from FCA(UK) has been revoked. Currently without valid regulatory status, the broker is rated at only 1.93 on the WikiFX App and bears significant risks, please stay away from it.