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New info from London Daily Mail, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and Times of Israel added to article. John Nagle ( talk) 07:23, 15 December 2016 (UTC)
The article has: "According to the Daily Mail, "videos posted online by Hong Kong-based SpotOption sales manager Thomas Chang in 2016 and former Middle East sales manager Fakhri Husseini in 2013 tell potential brokers that just 20 per cent of people who invest in binary options ever get any money back." The "video" they're referring to is really a PowerPoint presentation, which can be seen here. [1]. John Nagle ( talk) 05:50, 23 December 2016 (UTC)
Hi Brianhe, thanks for replying again. We don't have this "video" that DM speaks of, the slideshow isn't confirmed to be a primary source (a primary source isn't considered reliable on social media unless it is a confirmed social media account) and isn't reliable as a secondary source. I can quote from WP:RS, if you like? To expand on your quote from the RSN admonishment: "... As a result, the Daily Mail should not be used for determining notability, nor should it be used as a source in articles." (Emphasis added) As noted in the RfC discussion, the Daily Mail has a history of mis-attributing statements to people who didn't make them, especially on contentious topics, thus it makes perfect sense to me to challenge this source. I have always felt that in the case of contentious issues and in this age of fake news, it is of even more importance (and in the public's best interest) to ensure we have only content sourced from quality sources - we can make no assumptions. I've removed the material in question again, but if you can find a reliable source to support it, I will gladly accept the content back into the article. I did already spend some time looking for a reliable source to support it, but didn't find one, but perhaps I missed something? Thank you again for discussing with me. Waggie ( talk) 21:24, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
Clearly we have a COI problem at SpotOption. What do we really know here? We have good sources for SpotOption being the back end of much of the Tel Aviv based binary option industry. We have good sources for Banc De Binary being a scam. We have good sources for SpotOption being the back-end service behind Banc De Binary. We have good sources for most of the Tel Aviv based binary options industry being a scam.
SpotOption itself says they are actively recruiting affiliates [3] and they have a pitch about how profitable it is to be an affilate. [4]. As of January 2016, they claimed 70% of the binary option market, $5 billion in turnover a year, and 250 affiliated "brands". [5].
What we don't have are reliable sources about the exact relationship between the more crooked affiliates and SpotOption itself. We quote Tammy Levy of SpotOption as saying “SpotOption is a technology company, okay? Everyone is responsible for checking regulation in the jurisdiction where they want to work. I am here to tell you what options you have technologically.” We can properly go that far. We don't have reliable sources to show that SpotOption itself is a criminal enterprise. John Nagle ( talk) 20:00, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
SpotOption at one time operated a regulated binary option exchange in Cyprus. [6] The site was "spotoptionexchange.com". It's a blank page now, but it was live until October 2016. [7]. They were fined EUR10,000 by CySec in early 2016. [8]. Any more info on that? John Nagle ( talk) 20:17, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
I have moved the list of affiliates here from the article, (1) because it is sourced only from a non-independent source, namely SpotOption itself; but (2) because it does not add encyclopedically to the article. If the cited affiliates were independently notable, it might so function, but otherwise it should suffice to say that in 2016 SpotOption claimed to have over 300 affiliates.
-- Bejnar ( talk) 22:27, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
Any contributor to this article or this talk page who is paid to contribute needs to declare their paid status according to our Terms of Use. See WP:Paid. There is a discussion at WP:COIN now about this article. I noticed in particular that one editor had a user name which was the same as the real name of person mentioned in the article. An IP also claimed to be the marketing director of the company (that is presumably a paid position).
Please everybody just be careful. Smallbones( smalltalk) 03:06, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
This is mostly a note to myself, but others may benefit as well. There are lots of sources that are tied to the industry that sometimes give good info, and sometimes don't. It's very important to distinguish these and even to ignore "good info" at times. A case in point is Banc De Binary seizes its operations from ForexNewsNow. I think the headline writer meant "ceases" instead of "seizes" but who knows? Of particular interest is their statement "Banc De Binary is one of the many subsidiaries of the SpotOption exchange, which is based in Israel." Perhaps "subsidiaries" is just a bad translation of "affiliates", but who knows? It's important enough that I archived the page. As I said, this is mostly a note to myself to be careful. Smallbones( smalltalk) 15:29, 16 February 2017 (UTC)
SpotOption says they're cutting back operations in Israel, due to regulatory pressure. They say they will "magnify the Hong Kong, Singapore, and London branches." [19] John Nagle ( talk) 18:20, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
A COI editor recently made an edit to make it appear SpotOption is not in the gambling industry. However, SpotOption exhibited at ICE Totally Gaming 2017, one of the world's largest gambling industry conventions. [20]. Stand N7-430. Here's a picture. [21].
Here's SpotOption again, sponsoring awards at the 2016 iGaming Business Affiliate conference. [22] Note the large signs, "SpotOption - World's Leading Binary Option Platform Provider". The 2017 conference video [23] has no SpotOption signs, so they seem to be less visible in that market. John Nagle ( talk) 20:41, 9 June 2017 (UTC)
See [24].
Israel Police Superintendent Gabi Biton told the Reforms Committee on August 2 that Israeli crime kingpins are behind the binary options industry and that organized crime in the country has been massively enriched and strengthened as a result of law enforcement’s failure for many years to grasp the vastness of the problem.
“Our eyes have been opened,” said Biton, who investigates financial fraud and money laundering. “What we’re seeing here is a massive organized criminal enterprise. We are talking about criminals at various levels of crime organizations, up to the very top.”
At Monday’s Reforms Committee meeting, the third of three held by the committee in the past week, the main topic of discussion was binary options platform providers like SpotOption, TechFinancials and Panda, and whether or not they would be allowed to continue to operate from Israel even as the firms and call centers to which they provide technology are outlawed.
Representatives from SpotOption argued that they merely provide technology to binary options websites and that the bill should be changed so that their activity is not banned. Representatives of Israel’s Justice Ministry and the police said that platform providers, without naming SpotOption specifically, in fact host and operate the binary options websites and receive a percentage of each transaction, and therefore should be covered by the ban, as they will be if the law passes in its current form.
But police superintendent Biton told the panel that the technology companies behind binary options websites do in fact participate in the websites’ questionable activities. “They run the websites and the payment processing, and also have the ability to influence the results of trades,” the police officer said. John Nagle ( talk) 17:47, 23 September 2017 (UTC)
![]() | This article is rated Start-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||
|
![]() | Individuals with a conflict of interest, particularly those representing the subject of the article, are strongly advised not to directly edit the article. See Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. You may request corrections or suggest content here on the Talk page for independent editors to review, or contact us if the issue is urgent. |
![]() | The
Wikimedia Foundation's
Terms of Use require that editors disclose their "employer, client, and affiliation" with respect to any paid contribution; see
WP:PAID. For advice about reviewing paid contributions, see
WP:COIRESPONSE.
|
![]() | The following Wikipedia contributors may be personally or professionally connected to the subject of this article. Relevant policies and guidelines may include
conflict of interest,
autobiography, and
neutral point of view.
|
New info from London Daily Mail, Bureau of Investigative Journalism, and Times of Israel added to article. John Nagle ( talk) 07:23, 15 December 2016 (UTC)
The article has: "According to the Daily Mail, "videos posted online by Hong Kong-based SpotOption sales manager Thomas Chang in 2016 and former Middle East sales manager Fakhri Husseini in 2013 tell potential brokers that just 20 per cent of people who invest in binary options ever get any money back." The "video" they're referring to is really a PowerPoint presentation, which can be seen here. [1]. John Nagle ( talk) 05:50, 23 December 2016 (UTC)
Hi Brianhe, thanks for replying again. We don't have this "video" that DM speaks of, the slideshow isn't confirmed to be a primary source (a primary source isn't considered reliable on social media unless it is a confirmed social media account) and isn't reliable as a secondary source. I can quote from WP:RS, if you like? To expand on your quote from the RSN admonishment: "... As a result, the Daily Mail should not be used for determining notability, nor should it be used as a source in articles." (Emphasis added) As noted in the RfC discussion, the Daily Mail has a history of mis-attributing statements to people who didn't make them, especially on contentious topics, thus it makes perfect sense to me to challenge this source. I have always felt that in the case of contentious issues and in this age of fake news, it is of even more importance (and in the public's best interest) to ensure we have only content sourced from quality sources - we can make no assumptions. I've removed the material in question again, but if you can find a reliable source to support it, I will gladly accept the content back into the article. I did already spend some time looking for a reliable source to support it, but didn't find one, but perhaps I missed something? Thank you again for discussing with me. Waggie ( talk) 21:24, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
Clearly we have a COI problem at SpotOption. What do we really know here? We have good sources for SpotOption being the back end of much of the Tel Aviv based binary option industry. We have good sources for Banc De Binary being a scam. We have good sources for SpotOption being the back-end service behind Banc De Binary. We have good sources for most of the Tel Aviv based binary options industry being a scam.
SpotOption itself says they are actively recruiting affiliates [3] and they have a pitch about how profitable it is to be an affilate. [4]. As of January 2016, they claimed 70% of the binary option market, $5 billion in turnover a year, and 250 affiliated "brands". [5].
What we don't have are reliable sources about the exact relationship between the more crooked affiliates and SpotOption itself. We quote Tammy Levy of SpotOption as saying “SpotOption is a technology company, okay? Everyone is responsible for checking regulation in the jurisdiction where they want to work. I am here to tell you what options you have technologically.” We can properly go that far. We don't have reliable sources to show that SpotOption itself is a criminal enterprise. John Nagle ( talk) 20:00, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
SpotOption at one time operated a regulated binary option exchange in Cyprus. [6] The site was "spotoptionexchange.com". It's a blank page now, but it was live until October 2016. [7]. They were fined EUR10,000 by CySec in early 2016. [8]. Any more info on that? John Nagle ( talk) 20:17, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
I have moved the list of affiliates here from the article, (1) because it is sourced only from a non-independent source, namely SpotOption itself; but (2) because it does not add encyclopedically to the article. If the cited affiliates were independently notable, it might so function, but otherwise it should suffice to say that in 2016 SpotOption claimed to have over 300 affiliates.
-- Bejnar ( talk) 22:27, 14 February 2017 (UTC)
Any contributor to this article or this talk page who is paid to contribute needs to declare their paid status according to our Terms of Use. See WP:Paid. There is a discussion at WP:COIN now about this article. I noticed in particular that one editor had a user name which was the same as the real name of person mentioned in the article. An IP also claimed to be the marketing director of the company (that is presumably a paid position).
Please everybody just be careful. Smallbones( smalltalk) 03:06, 15 February 2017 (UTC)
This is mostly a note to myself, but others may benefit as well. There are lots of sources that are tied to the industry that sometimes give good info, and sometimes don't. It's very important to distinguish these and even to ignore "good info" at times. A case in point is Banc De Binary seizes its operations from ForexNewsNow. I think the headline writer meant "ceases" instead of "seizes" but who knows? Of particular interest is their statement "Banc De Binary is one of the many subsidiaries of the SpotOption exchange, which is based in Israel." Perhaps "subsidiaries" is just a bad translation of "affiliates", but who knows? It's important enough that I archived the page. As I said, this is mostly a note to myself to be careful. Smallbones( smalltalk) 15:29, 16 February 2017 (UTC)
SpotOption says they're cutting back operations in Israel, due to regulatory pressure. They say they will "magnify the Hong Kong, Singapore, and London branches." [19] John Nagle ( talk) 18:20, 22 March 2017 (UTC)
A COI editor recently made an edit to make it appear SpotOption is not in the gambling industry. However, SpotOption exhibited at ICE Totally Gaming 2017, one of the world's largest gambling industry conventions. [20]. Stand N7-430. Here's a picture. [21].
Here's SpotOption again, sponsoring awards at the 2016 iGaming Business Affiliate conference. [22] Note the large signs, "SpotOption - World's Leading Binary Option Platform Provider". The 2017 conference video [23] has no SpotOption signs, so they seem to be less visible in that market. John Nagle ( talk) 20:41, 9 June 2017 (UTC)
See [24].
Israel Police Superintendent Gabi Biton told the Reforms Committee on August 2 that Israeli crime kingpins are behind the binary options industry and that organized crime in the country has been massively enriched and strengthened as a result of law enforcement’s failure for many years to grasp the vastness of the problem.
“Our eyes have been opened,” said Biton, who investigates financial fraud and money laundering. “What we’re seeing here is a massive organized criminal enterprise. We are talking about criminals at various levels of crime organizations, up to the very top.”
At Monday’s Reforms Committee meeting, the third of three held by the committee in the past week, the main topic of discussion was binary options platform providers like SpotOption, TechFinancials and Panda, and whether or not they would be allowed to continue to operate from Israel even as the firms and call centers to which they provide technology are outlawed.
Representatives from SpotOption argued that they merely provide technology to binary options websites and that the bill should be changed so that their activity is not banned. Representatives of Israel’s Justice Ministry and the police said that platform providers, without naming SpotOption specifically, in fact host and operate the binary options websites and receive a percentage of each transaction, and therefore should be covered by the ban, as they will be if the law passes in its current form.
But police superintendent Biton told the panel that the technology companies behind binary options websites do in fact participate in the websites’ questionable activities. “They run the websites and the payment processing, and also have the ability to influence the results of trades,” the police officer said. John Nagle ( talk) 17:47, 23 September 2017 (UTC)