There was a recent ‘news’ story featuring Amanda Holden, the presenter, who supposedly was earning money effortlessly through an investment opportunity with Equistak. The article mentioned an initial deposit of £250.
I am normally cautious of such claims, but I thought it sounded like a good way to supplement my pension so I decided to call the number provided.
I spoke with a gentleman and arranged to set up an account with the minimum sum.
Over the next few weeks I did see an unreasonable profit accrue, sufficient to encourage me to deposit a further £250.
At that stage that I was transferred to a new trader. Once again, I saw a profit.
By this time, I had been transferred again. With the new trader’s encouragement, and viewing the figures on my screen, I deposited a further £500.
Too good to be true? Fraudsters posed as a legitimate investment firm called Equistak, ensnaring this reader and likely many others
After the initial investment, the company started pressuring the individual to invest a substantial amount of £10,000, which was not feasible for them. The individual requested to close their account and transfer the remaining balance to their personal bank account.
Despite the request, Equistak failed to have someone from the finance department get in touch as promised. Additionally, when the individual expressed their inability to invest more funds, the company stopped returning their calls.
I was checking my account each day, and suddenly noticed that it had been ‘temporarily suspended’. I later discovered that I had lost access to my account.
I received an e-mail from Equistak. I made clear to him that I now simply wished to close the account, and have the money owed to me transferred to my bank account using the details that I had frequently shared.
But I have not received any money. Anonymous, Lanarkshire
Harvey Dorset, of This is Money, replies: It appears that instead of committing your money to a genuine investment service, you have been scammed.
This outfit had no intention of paying out your money when you closed your account.
This explains why the so-called ‘traders’ that you spoke to were pushing you to invest more money in their services and investment products.
It also explains the ‘unreasonable’ profit you saw so quickly, as well as the unprofessional nature of the traders.
In screenshots of your conversations you had with the traders, one describes you as ‘buddy’, ‘brother’ and ‘dude’ on separate occasions after you said you wanted to close your account – not something you are likely to see from a legitimate trading platform.
These scammers frequently use the names and images of high-profile figures in order to suggest that their schemes are legitimate and can be trusted.
I tried to contact Equistak for comment on its practices but their email domain no longer exists.
A cursory search online for Equistak is revealing and worrying.
First, the Financial Conduct Authority website reveals that Equistak is not FCA authorised and ‘may be targeting people in the UK.’
‘This firm may be providing or promoting financial services or products without our permission. You should avoid dealing with this firm and beware of scams,’ the website says.
When contacted by This is Money, the FCA said it was unable to comment on individual firms.
Perhaps more worrying than this is that a search for Equistak reveals a host of articles, reviews, social media posts and videos waxing lyrical about the benefits of using Equistak as a trading platform.
Luckily, there are a number of more recent negative reviews and forum posts warning of the risks of the platform.
One publisher This is Money contacted said they would remove the story, adding that it was published as an advertorial by a third party and they were not aware it was a scam.
With such a wealth of seemingly positive information available on Equistak, it is perhaps unsurprising that people have been caught in its web.
This is Money was unable to find the exact scam advert that caught you out online.
A representative of Amanda Holden said they would be unable to comment without seeing the advert in question.
There is no suggestion that Amanda Holden was involved or knew of any wrongdoing – and many celebrities unwittingly have their profile used in this way.
As it seemed unlikely that Equistak would ever return your funds, I contacted your bank, Bank of Scotland, to ask if it could initiate a chargeback – essentially, to claw back the funds you paid to Equistak.
In your case, I’m glad to say that Bank of Scotland refunded £750 of the money you sent to Equistak from your bank account.
However, in chargeback cases, the merchant – in this case Equistak – has 45 days in which it can dispute this. If they can provide evidence that the service you paid for was provided, the bank can take away the credit.
Banks can choose to repay scam victims out of their own pocket, but are not required to in most cases.
A spokesperson from the Bank of Scotland said: ‘It’s important to clarify that [the customer] had not contacted us at any point previously to report his concern around these payments. Following your email, we spoke to him to obtain the details so that we could investigate.
‘As he made these payments by credit card, we’ve provided a refund through the chargeback process.
‘This is a temporary credit, and the merchant has 45 days to respond and present evidence that the goods/services paid for were received.
‘If the merchant submits that evidence, or provides a refund directly, we would re-debit the temporary credit. We have explained to [the customer] how the chargeback process works, which he understood.’
The remaining £250 you sent to Equistak came from a different bank account, and the bank in question says it has not been able to track it down yet.
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