Scam company "cicada", "vladobrokers" from Singapore/HK , be aware *update*

[AHOYBRAUSE]

So somebody I know is currently working for some Singapore people.

They are heavily recruiting members in Japan at the moment.

Thats their business model:

You can become a member and buy some package up to 12xxx$ in USDT or in some cases btc, smaller amounts also possible.

The model is, you have to play baccarat (always betting on player) or binary option on their site, and use martingale strategy.
Before playing you "purchase" an insurance from them , which at the highest level, when you play with 12xxx$ is 30$.

So you start with 100$ and then double if necessary. If you lose 7 times the game is over and they refund you the money instantly, so the highest bet is something over 6000$. If at some point your bet wins you basically won 70$ ( base bet of 100$ minus the 30$ insurance) . You can make claim insurance once a day, but they also have promos that you can play up to 3 times daily.

Basically it's a free 70$/day.

Here comes the catch. Your initial deposit is stuck for 90 days and if you actually "lose" and claim the insurance the 90 day thing restarts. You winnings can be withdrawn daily though.

Now what I am wondering, what's is their goal by offering this. You obviously can't insure martingale because this is a losing business for them. Also rake back from the casino provider doesn't pay them enough so actually make money.
While recruiting member in person or via zoom meeting they talk so much like they want to go public in 3 years, opening offices here and there and so on. They also say when they registered the company in Hong Kong they made a 200 million deposit, this also sounds pretty far fetched.
I mean these people live quite large, staying in fancy hotels in Tokyo and Osaka and so on, so there is money. They are also not hiding their faces or identity.
Still, this deal is too good to be true and the numbers don't make any sense.

What do you guys think? What's their goal with this? They say they are aware the are making minus but they want to creat a network and player base to go public, sounds bullshit to me.

[LoyceV]

Basically it's a free 70$/day.

If you lose, you may get back your $100, but you're still down $30 for paying "insurance". And you'll lose more often than you'll win.

Here comes the catch. Your initial deposit is stuck for 90 days and if you actually "lose" and claim the insurance the 90 day thing restarts. You winnings can be withdrawn daily though.

Sounds like a ponzi scheme.

Still, this deal is too good to be true

Then stay away from it! If they make a complicated system, it's a smoke curtain to hide what's going on.

What's their goal with this?

That's easy: they get rich, you get poor.

sounds bullshit to me.

Then stay away from them.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Basically it's a free 70$/day.

If you lose, you may get back your $100, but you're still down $30 for paying "insurance". And you'll lose more often than you'll win.

Here comes the catch. Your initial deposit is stuck for 90 days and if you actually "lose" and claim the insurance the 90 day thing restarts. You winnings can be withdrawn daily though.

Sounds like a ponzi scheme.

Still, this deal is too good to be true

Then stay away from it! If they make a complicated system, it's a smoke curtain to hide what's going on.

What's their goal with this?

That's easy: they get rich, you get poor.

sounds bullshit to me.

Then stay away from them.

I agree with everything except number 1.
If you lose you have to double until losing 7 times in a row, at that point you get all your bets refunded and only then you are down 30$ for the insurance.
If you win at whatever point you are up 70$.
So mathematically you only lose in 1:128 times, so you don't lose more than you win .

It obviously looks strange but they are mostly targeting rich Japanese business men. If I made a scam I would target small timers to be honest that can't afford lawyers and so on and don't have connections. Also I don't show my face in public meeting them. That's why I wonder what's actually happening.

I never said I want to do it, I know the numbers make zero sense.

[saxydev]

One thing to be taken in consideration about japanese/chinesse people, they are yolo gamblers, like really yolo.

Their numbers may make no sense but probably the only thing they are looking for is to catch you on, become addicted, and win from the house edge on the long term. They win enough on a 6000$ bet in order to pay the 70$.

That's my assumption, it goes the same with casino's offering bonuses on deposits.

[LoyceV]

I agree with everything except number 1.
If you lose you have to double until losing 7 times in a row, at that point you get all your bets refunded and only then you are down 30$ for the insurance.
If you win at whatever point you are up 70$.
So mathematically you only lose in 1:128 times, so you don't lose more than you win .

I didn't catch that part. That leaves just a ponzi scheme: "how about you give me $12k today, and without playing anything, for the next 90 days I'll give you $100 per day? Oh, there's a hidden catch I'm not telling you about: the moment the $100 per day for all my customers gets more than I earn from new people giving me $12k, I disappear."

It obviously looks strange but they are mostly targeting rich Japanese business men. If I made a scam I would target small timers to be honest that can't afford lawyers and so on and don't have connections. Also I don't show my face in public meeting them. That's why I wonder what's actually happening.

Rich guys is where the money is. Maybe the ones showing their faces are not the real boss behind it.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Once again, agreed. 


The other strange thing is.

They actually discourage their members to actually play, just do the insurance thing once a day and don't gamble after that.

One more thing about business men in Japan, a lot of them have some sort of connection to the local yakuza. So if they need any help getting their money back they always know who to turn to.
So scamming in Japan is even more risky than in other countries. Not even mentioning the 99% conviction rate .

[stompix]

I mean these people live quite large, staying in fancy hotels in Tokyo and Osaka and so on, so there is money. They are also not hiding their faces or identity.
Still, this deal is too good to be true and the numbers don't make any sense.

They have millions, they plan on going international with multiple offices, and all they have as a business plan is playing martingale, but, the catch is that before starting playing you need to make a deposit! Why make a deposit first when you could deposit just what you want to wage on that game?
Because you won't be seeing that money nor the winnings that are just some numbers in a script and not backed by anything, ever!

When things involve:
- deposit more money than actually needed
- doing some complicated stuff that makes no sense and doesn't really need money in the first place since it's a giveaway
Surprise, it's a scam!

As for the hotels, cars, yachts, you name it:

The police explained that the fraudsters rented space in commercial buildings in Hong Kong to run their operation. They also hired youngsters to promote the scam by having them showing off cash, a yacht, and a sports car on social media to lure other victims.

Not the first, not the last case.

One more thing about business men in Japan, a lot of them have some sort of connection to the local yakuza.

That's as accurate as every Frenchman always walking around with a freshly baked baguette.

[YOSHIE]

What do you guys think? What's their goal with this? They say they are aware the are making minus but they want to creat a network and player base to go public, sounds bullshit to me.

Gambling, betting, multiplying money, illegal online loans recorded Singapore has the highest current figure case by case of more than SGD8.8 million in losses suffered by the people of Singapore with figures exceeding 2,670 different cases.

Your story reminds me of one of the fraudulent investment phenomena that occurred in Indonesia some time ago called (Binomo), such practice is exactly what you described with the gambling scheme or better known as the money games and binary options model, sweetly offered by influencers as if carrying out these activities is a profitable and legal action for their customers, without suspecting that the victims have experienced fantastic losses from such practices.

You need to know the business model of Trading, investing, illegal gambling, binary options and foreign exchange, is often used and made into a fraudulent mode that is excited in Singapore, for that if you live in Singapore, Don't forget to coordinate such mode with the police in Singapore, they have warned the citizens, especially the common people, about some dangerous illegal businesses.

[AbuBhakar]

Take note that player is playing on the casino that owns the insurance company which is red flag. The customer obviously gave the ownership of there money the moment they deposit there money in the casino due to 90 days lock in period. Also this investment has minimum investment which makes this scam scheme profitable in long run. There's no way you can win on there Bacarrat because it's rigged that's why they are confident with there insurance scheme. I will appreciate this insurance if the casino is not owned by the insurance company and offer only a fair insured value at loss.

Summary:

• The games is rigged
• Investors withdrawal will be limited to the amount of there deposit meaning there lock balance will not be claimable once they win too often
• Insurance doesn't work in gambling since chance of loss is high. Only idiots will insured gambling. 

[MuffinMaster]

All they have to do is collect enough money from investors within 90 days and they can disappear.
90 days is of course the minimum period.
Of course, they assume that the vast majority will extend this period.
If they manage to gather more and more participants + the current ones will continue to extend the payment period, then they can work in this way for a year or even two.
It's also a matter of when some mainstream media will expose it.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

I mean these people live quite large, staying in fancy hotels in Tokyo and Osaka and so on, so there is money. They are also not hiding their faces or identity.
Still, this deal is too good to be true and the numbers don't make any sense.

They have millions, they plan on going international with multiple offices, and all they have as a business plan is playing martingale, but, the catch is that before starting playing you need to make a deposit! Why make a deposit first when you could deposit just what you want to wage on that game?
Because you won't be seeing that money nor the winnings that are just some numbers in a script and not backed by anything, ever!

When things involve:
- deposit more money than actually needed
- doing some complicated stuff that makes no sense and doesn't really need money in the first place since it's a giveaway
Surprise, it's a scam!

As for the hotels, cars, yachts, you name it:

The police explained that the fraudsters rented space in commercial buildings in Hong Kong to run their operation. They also hired youngsters to promote the scam by having them showing off cash, a yacht, and a sports car on social media to lure other victims.

Not the first, not the last case.

One more thing about business men in Japan, a lot of them have some sort of connection to the local yakuza.

That's as accurate as every Frenchman always walking around with a freshly baked baguette.

You don't quite get it. Like I said, the winnings are getting paid out. Just the deposit is stuck for 90 days.
Also, the package the customers/victims purchase (the initial deposit) have a certain value because of the 7x martingale , it's calculated and not some random number.

Also, the don't promote on social media, the have face to face meetings, fly people in, pay for the hotels and so on, that is different to what you describe.

And your last point, if you have no clue about Japanese society you should not comment about it. I studied it 5 years and lived there for 10. You wont make it to the top without having crossed their paths at least once, thats just a fact.

But at least we agree it's a scam, just how long it's running is the question.

[drwhobox]

Once again, agreed. 


The other strange thing is.

They actually discourage their members to actually play, just do the insurance thing once a day and don't gamble after that.

One more thing about business men in Japan, a lot of them have some sort of connection to the local yakuza. So if they need any help getting their money back they always know who to turn to.
So scamming in Japan is even more risky than in other countries. Not even mentioning the 99% conviction rate .

It is clear that their primary goal is to get that insurance money. The company is in win-win situation if you make profit they holds that for 90days, which is a long time and you will get bored waiting and play some more and lose that too.

If by any chance you are in profit they will pay you from other newbies who deposits after you.

[MuffinMaster]

Does this system have a name or is it possible to find it on some website?

[digaran]

When you deposit bitcoin, can you also withdraw bitcoin? I wouldn't meet face to face with casino owners just to play online later, lol that's red flag, they could as well kidnap and rape me in a gang bang( not really, I would send a young girl as a bait first, so if they do the banging I'm safe, she will not be though, that's the risk of being a bait) lol.
@OP, do they offer any free trial accounts? Meaning they pay $100 to a few dozen users for testing purposes?

If entering requirement is clean trust rating, I could somehow find a way around it. third lol.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

When you deposit bitcoin, can you also withdraw bitcoin? I wouldn't meet face to face with casino owners just to play online later, lol that's red flag, they could as well kidnap and rape me in a gang bang( not really, I would send a young girl as a bait first, so if they do the banging I'm safe, she will not be though, that's the risk of being a bait) lol.
@OP, do they offer any free trial accounts? Meaning they pay $100 to a few dozen users for testing purposes?

If entering requirement is clean trust rating, I could somehow find a way around it. third lol.

Hey, sorry I didn't update here.

The expected happened and it seems the card house they built is now collapsing since 1 of the main guys supposably ran away with a large chunk of customer funds, so they claim at least.
For the past 2 week customers couldn't withdraw and they claimed they are doing a merger with www.vladobrokers.com and because of this there is an "audit". They actually met with vlado at some Forex expo in Dubai 3 weeks ago, that I know is true.
I think that's their exit strategy just blaming a fall guy even though it's the whole company obviously. We even have the passport copy of the runner given by 1 or the Japanese.

To your question, I don't know if they offered trial account, not that I know of. Also they are not Casino owners as explained above. Withdrawals have only been in USDT, bitcoin as a deposit option was only granted on special occasions.

Now I'm trying to find out more about these people. The company was called cicada. Don't know the address of the site, just there is a youtube channel, insta accounts and so on catered for Japanese customers.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

New updates.

The supposed scam is still running, somehow the Japanese believe that the guy who ran with the cash worked alone, so stupid.
I have looked deeper into vladobrokers, the site the scam company will "partner with". They totally look like a scam as well. They have bought followers on instagram that like and comment the same stuff on every post, can't be more obvious. Also they don't reply to emails and one of their newest other partners has basically the exact same homepage, how stupid.

Anyway, the "main scammer" that stole the money his name is CHEN JUNHONG according to his passport (not sure if the passport is real though) . If you ever stumble over this name I would appreciate the info, I have some people that want a word with him.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

The story continues:

Now "cicada" has been "bought" by vladobrokers.com , I bet it's the same scammer owner.

There are currently flying in Japanese cicada members to Dubai (they are there right now) to pitch vlado and so on to continue the scam, basically a multi level marketing ponzi sceme.

Now a new name has entered the mix, https://ise.fund/ . They are "partners" of vlado and supposed to be a big player, haha.

Checking the site it shows that it looks cheap, the company address is at some location that is used for plenty of sketchy companies. The "founder" as advertised is a well know business man that I think has his identity been stolen by these people.

Well they are doing their best to make up some stories how legit they are but all their websites look fake, instagram followers are obviously bought with always the same comments like "keep up the good work", "thanks for this post", and so on.
They have no replies to any legit questions, "cicada" member still waiting to get paid and are told they will get paid once they bring members to the new project ( vladobrokers ).

I don't understand why none of these Japanese has went to the police yet. Totally crazy that they still believe this nonsense.

So stay away from https://www.vladobrokers.com/ , https://ise.fund/ , and those are all run by scammers from Singapore/Malaysia/China.

As soon as I find out something new I will update here.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Still trying to spread awareness.

If somebody wants to help, you can check out the homepage and instagram of vladobokers to see that they are full of shxx.

All my story above is 100% facts, if you want to help you could leave a review about these scammers on https://www.trustpilot.com/review/vladobrokers.com . It would be very appreciated.

Maybe if the Japanese people that got screwed by cicada and now the followup vlado see the trustpilot page it would finally open their eyes so they FINALLY go to the police instead of investing more and thinking they will get the lost money back on the new site.

Anyway, thank you.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Another small update.

Vladobrokers and ISE (intersphere enterprises) now deleted their instagram accounts, maybe preparing to run again.

ISE is pretending to have a CEO from Australia named "Peter Keusgen" . They stole his linkedin profile and just copied it with a new picture and even promote it at the bottom of their site. Just scroll to the bottom of the site: https://ise.fund/ .

Which normal company puts a linkedin link on the homepage showing what the CEO has done in the past. In online promotional meetings they even refer to this person and people should check the linkedin, just to see how "legit" they are.

Thankfully linkedin reacted fast after I reported the fake account and deleted it.

Still, not one single Japanese customer that got scammed actually went to the police. One of the scammer front guys still travels here and posts pictures of expensive Whisky, cigars, watches and more on instagram. Like he couldn't care less, it's amazing.