Hankotrade’s Deceptive Strategies: Erasing Negative Publicity Through Fraud – Part 1

Originally Syndicated on September 30, 2024 @ 11:24 am

What Happened?

Hankotrade, a relatively lesser-known forex and CFD broker, has recently come under scrutiny for allegedly attempting to conceal a troubling past and suppress negative reviews and news. Despite presenting itself as a legitimate broker offering competitive spreads and advanced trading tools, Hankotrade has faced numerous complaints from traders. Issues range from account manipulation, withdrawal delays, and poor customer service to suspicions of unfair trading practices.

Multiple reviews on platforms like Myfxbook indicate that dissatisfied clients have faced difficulties in receiving payouts and report a lack of transparency in trading conditions. In addition, there are allegations of questionable business practices tied to the broker’s offshore registration, which many believe offers fewer regulatory safeguards for traders.

Hankotrade has reportedly tried to downplay or censor these damaging reviews, with some users claiming that their negative feedback was removed or suppressed. Such actions have raised concerns about the broker’s true intentions, as efforts to limit the spread of unfavorable information often point to larger, unresolved issues within the company. For traders considering Hankotrade, these red flags suggest a need for caution and thorough research before engaging with the platform.

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

List of Fake Copyright Notices for Hankotrade

Number of Fake DMCA Notice(s)	1
Lumen Database Notice(s)	https://lumendatabase.org/notices/43911622
Sender(s)	NovaFusion Technologies
Date(s)	Aug 18, 2024
Fake Link(s) Used by Scammers	https://hankotrade.com/
Original Link(s) Targeted	https://www.myfxbook.com/reviews/brokers/hankotrade/1930486,1

Evidence and Screenshots

How do we investigate fake DMCA notices?

To accomplish this, we utilize the OSINT Tool provided by FakeDMCA.com and the Lumen API for Researchers, courtesy of the Lumen Database.

FakeDMCA.com is the work of an independent team of research students and cybersecurity professionals, developed under Project UnCensor. Their OSINT Tool, designed to uncover and analyze takedown notices, represents a significant step forward in combating these abusive practices. It has become a valuable resource, increasingly relied upon by journalists and law enforcement agencies across the United States.

Lumen, on the other hand, is an independent research initiative dedicated to studying takedown notices and other legal demands related to online content removal. The project, which operates under the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, plays a crucial role in tracking and understanding the broader implications of such requests.

What was Hankotrade trying to hide?

Hankotrade is a forex and CFD broker that offers trading services to both retail and institutional clients. Based in an offshore jurisdiction, Hankotrade operates with limited oversight, which is often a point of concern for traders. The broker advertises competitive spreads, high leverage, and a user-friendly trading platform to attract new traders, particularly those looking for a cost-effective entry into forex trading. However, its offshore registration and lack of a well-recognized regulatory license have raised doubts about the broker’s reliability and security for its clients.

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Despite its marketing efforts, Hankotrade has faced significant criticism from traders and industry watchdogs. These complaints point to a range of issues that raise red flags about the broker’s trustworthiness. Here’s a breakdown of the adverse news, bad reviews, complaints, and allegations that Hankotrade seems to be attempting to keep under wraps:

1. Withdrawal Issues and Delays

One of the most frequently reported complaints against Hankotrade involves difficulties with withdrawing funds. Several traders have expressed frustration with the broker’s long processing times for withdrawals or outright refusals to process payouts. This has caused significant concern among clients, as prompt withdrawals are a critical aspect of a broker’s trustworthiness. Traders have reported that, in some cases, their accounts were closed after attempting to withdraw profits, with little or no explanation from Hankotrade.

These withdrawal delays have fueled suspicions about the company’s financial stability and liquidity, raising the possibility that the broker may not have sufficient reserves to cover client payouts, particularly during times of market volatility.

2. Account Manipulation Allegations

A number of traders have accused Hankotrade of manipulating their trading accounts, particularly during high volatility periods. These allegations include reports of slippage, where the price at which a trade is executed significantly differs from the intended price, often resulting in losses for the trader. While slippage can occur naturally in fast-moving markets, multiple complaints suggest that Hankotrade may be deliberately altering prices or execution speeds to disadvantage retail clients.

This kind of account manipulation is a serious issue, as it calls into question the fairness and integrity of the broker’s trading environment. Traders who suspect they are being manipulated are often left without much recourse due to Hankotrade’s offshore status and the lack of strong regulatory oversight.

3. Poor Customer Support

Numerous reviews on platforms like Myfxbook describe Hankotrade’s customer support as unresponsive or lacking in professionalism. Traders report long wait times for responses, poor communication from support staff, and the failure to resolve serious issues related to accounts and withdrawals. This lack of support becomes especially problematic when traders encounter technical issues or suspect wrongdoing by the broker. The inability to get timely help only compounds the frustration experienced by Hankotrade’s clients.

Many have expressed dissatisfaction with how the company handles disputes, often leaving traders without any resolution or explanation.

4. Offshore Regulation and Lack of Transparency

Hankotrade’s offshore registration is another key point of concern for traders. Operating in a jurisdiction with minimal regulatory oversight means the broker is not held to the same standards as brokers regulated by well-known authorities such as the FCA, CySEC, or ASIC. Offshore brokers often operate in legal gray areas, offering limited protections for their clients. For traders, this means that if a dispute arises, there may be little recourse or protection.

This lack of strong regulation has led to concerns about Hankotrade’s transparency in financial operations and how client funds are handled. The absence of clear, enforceable rules often makes it easier for offshore brokers to engage in unethical practices, such as manipulating accounts or making it difficult for clients to withdraw their funds.

5. Censorship of Negative Reviews and Feedback

In addition to these operational complaints, there are allegations that Hankotrade is actively attempting to censor negative reviews and feedback. Some users on review platforms like Myfxbook have claimed that their unfavorable reviews were either removed or suppressed. There are reports that the broker may have contacted review sites or platforms in an effort to limit the visibility of damaging content.

By trying to suppress negative feedback, Hankotrade appears to be more focused on protecting its public image than addressing the legitimate concerns of its clients. This approach not only raises questions about the company’s ethical standards but also undermines potential traders’ ability to make informed decisions based on the experiences of others.

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Hankotrade’s efforts to downplay and suppress negative reviews, coupled with a growing number of complaints about its business practices, suggest that the broker may be hiding more than it wants the public to know. The major issues involving withdrawal delays, allegations of account manipulation, poor customer service, and offshore regulation raise serious concerns about the broker’s credibility and operational integrity.

While Hankotrade markets itself as a competitive broker with attractive trading conditions, the complaints and adverse reviews tell a different story. Traders are advised to exercise caution when considering Hankotrade as their broker, particularly due to its offshore status and lack of transparency. Before opening an account, it is essential to thoroughly research independent, uncensored reviews to understand the risks involved in dealing with a broker like Hankotrade.

Only Hankotrade benefits from this crime.

Since the fake copyright takedown notices were designed to remove negative content for Hankotrade from Google, we assume Hankotrade or someone associated with Hankotrade is behind this scam. It is often a fly-by-night Online Reputation agency working on behalf of Hankotrade. In this case, Hankotrade, at best, will be an “accomplice” or an “accessory” to the crime. The specific laws may vary depending on the jurisdiction. Still, the legal principle generally holds that if you actively participate in planning, encouraging, or facilitating a crime, you can be charged with it, even if you did not personally commit it.

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of Hankotrade (or actors working on behalf of Hankotrade), we will inform Hankotrade of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that Hankotrade may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Hankotrade, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Hankotrade to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.

Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –

1. Inform Google about the fraud committed against them.
2. Inform the victims of the fake DMCA about their websites.
3. Inform relevant law enforcement agencies
4. File counter-notices on Google to reinstate the ‘removed’ content
5. Publish copies of the ‘removed’ content on our network of 50+ websites

By investigating the fake DMCA takedown attempts, we hope to shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how Hankotrade and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking them to allegations of fraud, tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking…

Since Hankotrade made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and our original review of Hankotrade, including but not limited to user contributions, remain a permanent record for anyone interested in Hankotrade.

A case perfect for the Streisand effect…

Potential Consequences for Hankotrade

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)). 

Is Hankotrade Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. Hankotrade used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Hankotrade could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like Hankotrade have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Hankotrade is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

Reputation Agency’s Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

How did Hankotrade purport this DMCA Fraud?

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Hankotrade creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, Hankotrade either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Hankotrade, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Not In Good Company

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Hankotrade is in great company ….

Ironically, the manipulation tactics used to remove public-interest information from the Internet are backfiring on Hankotrade, which is now associated with the worst of this world.

Here are some of the specimens that share the internet space with Hankotrade –

Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado

Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado appears to be the former foreign affairs minister of the Dominican Republic. His name is listed next to more than 500 links to news articles, blogs, social media posts, and YouTube videos targeted for removal or de-indexing. Many of the articles refer to questions over his political fundraising practices. They include accusations that Vargas had received donations from an individual who would later be convicted of drug trafficking. Some targeted links remain active, while others return 404 errors or “file not found.”

José Antonio Gordo Valero

José Gordo joined OneCoin in 2015 and has been named in an indictment for the OneCoin scam in Argentina. The articles listed next to Gordo’s name in the documents reviewed by Rest of World include references to his role at the company. 

Diego Adolfo Marynberg

He appears to be the same Marynberg connected to funding right-wing causes, including settlement efforts in Israel. Reports also alleged that his company received preferential treatment in acquiring Argentinian bonds worth millions of dollars. More than 70 URLs appear next to Marynberg’s name in the documents, including pages from the Israeli newspapers The Times of Israel, Haaretz, and Clarin, one of Argentina’s most prominent news sites.

Majed Khalil Majzoub

Majed is an influential businessman with close ties to several governments, including the administration of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Majzoub’s name appears next to more than 180 URLs, mostly from independent outlets. Of the two URLs that pointed to articles from Germany’s Der Spiegel, one now returns an error message; the other, which appears to refer to relations between Venezuela and Colombia, directs to an unrelated story about Brexit. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What else is Hankotrade hiding?

Click here to visit the Google Search page for ‘Hankotrade’. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with us. If you have any information on Hankotrade that you want to share with us, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.

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References and Citations Used

Over thirty thousand DMCA notices reveal an organized attempt to abuse copyright law.

Reputation Management, or Internet Conspiracy

Exposed documents reveal how the powerful cleaned up their digital past using a reputation laundering firm.

Companies Use Fake Websites and Backdated Articles to Censor Google’s Search Results.

Bad Reviews: How Companies Are Using Fake Websites to Censor Content

How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists

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Many thanks to FakeDMCA.com and Lumen for providing access to their database.

Photos and Illustrations provided by DALL-E 3 – “a representation of Hankotrade censoring the internet and committing cyber crimes.”

• Our investigative report on Hankotrade’s efforts to suppress online speech is significant, as it raises serious concerns about its integrity. The findings suggest that Hankotrade has engaged in questionable practices, including potential perjury, impersonation, and fraud, in a misguided attempt to manage or salvage its reputation.
• We intend to file a counternotice to reinstate the removed article(s). While this particular instance is relatively straightforward, it is important to note that, in other cases, the overwhelming volume of automated DMCA takedown notices can significantly hinder the ability of affected parties to respond—especially for those not large media organizations.
• You need an account with fakeDMCA.com and Lumen to access the research data. However, accounts are not widely available since these non-profit organisations manage large databases that could be susceptible to misuse. Nevertheless, they do offer access to non-profits and researchers.
• It’s unclear why U.S. authorities have yet to act against these rogue reputation agencies, whose business model seems rooted in fraudulent practices.
• We’ve reached out to Hankotrade for a comment or rebuttal regarding this investigation. It will strongly suggest they were behind the takedown attempt if they remain silent.

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About the Author

The author is affiliated with Harvard University and serves as a researcher at both Lumen and FakeDMCA.com. In his personal capacity, he and his team have been actively investigating and reporting on organized crime related to fraudulent copyright takedown schemes. Additionally, his team provides advisory services to major law firms and is frequently consulted on matters pertaining to intellectual property law. He can be reached at [email protected] directly.