Have you seen an offer for stocks and shares trading software that seems to be too good to be true? Chances are you're absolutely right!
Like most promotions that promise the easy life, with you sitting back after an hour or so at work in your pyjamas while the dollars come rolling in, it's probably another scam. Share trading scams are more common now that so many of us have internet access though many variations have existed prior to the internet. One of the more modern versions would have you spend up big on a special software package that analyzes stock market data. This data is either input by you from a newspaper or is input by the promoter after you connect to their system, the software then analyzes that data and makes recommendations on which buy or sell trades to make for the day.
Often this expensive software package turns out to be little more than a dressed up spreadsheet, which you could probably have put together yourself. Worse, after using the package for a while it dawns on you that you would need to make many thousands of trades, have very deep pockets and also a whole heap of luck in order to make the sort of returns the promoter sold you on. Remember that stock market trading patterns of the past, while often a useful guide, are in no way a prediction of future market movements!
Worse again, you may find that you have been steered to use a 'recommended' broker, who of course benefits from each buy or sell order you might make in the form of the brokerage you must pay. What's that you say? The broker and the promoter are related businesses or are jointly promoting the software? Now there's a surprise!
There are a few variations on the theme such as software for gambling on the outcome of horse races. The software produces a recommended betting strategy based on all the horses recent form. Save yourself the cash and all that data input and just go see what your newspaper says instead. Newspaper tipsters work with the same historical data and are at least as accurate!
As with all work in your pyjamas type scams, the usual warning signs should set the alarm bells ringing in your head. Does it sound too good to be true? Are there lots of glowing testimonials from happy customers, none of whom can actually be identified and contacted?
Stop and think - what are you being charged for software or access to a system? What are the ongoing costs after you opt in? Why is the promoter selling this excellent package? Shouldn't he be lying back on a beach somewhere instead of spending his time marketing?
