Bull Trap
A bull trap is a move above a prior high or resistance level that attracts breakout buyers and then reverses, leaving them stranded in losing positions. In Elliott Wave terms, the classic bull trap is Wave B of an expanded flat: it exceeds the start of Wave A, looks like a fresh breakout to trend traders, and then Wave C wipes out the entire move and more. Truncated fifth waves and the X waves inside complex corrections produce similar traps. The wave count is your defense: when a breakout unfolds in three waves instead of five, on weakening momentum, and appears in a position where the count expects Wave B, treat it as suspect no matter how convincing the headline move looks. Bear traps are the same mechanics mirrored to the downside.
GBPUSD tops at 1.2850 in Wave A, dips, then rallies to 1.2895, five pips above the old high, on declining volume. Breakout buyers pile in. The advance is three waves, the position calls for Wave B of an expanded flat, and Wave C then drops the pair 250 pips below the Wave A low.