Forex broker scams list
The sad reality of the foreign exchange trading world is that there are people who are out to make a fraudulent buck from innocent traders trying to build their portfolios.
Huge forex bonuses
Whether it’s insider trading or some other manipulation of the international markets, trading fraud can take many guises – and it can even have links to the wider stock markets as well. As a result, it’s wise to keep yourself fully informed about what the brokers you are considering are up to – and make decisions to avoid those who don’t offer the level of safety and security you require. But despite the fact that there are clearly some untrustworthy web brokers out there in the forex world, it’s also the case that some brokers are more worthy of your trust. Many legitimate forex brokers have taken steps to gain the trust of their users, whether that’s by implementing rules against money laundering or simply by segregating client funds away from the operational funds of the broker’s business.
Forex brokers to avoid
If you trade forex, you need to make sure that your brokers are legitimate and above board – and that you can trust them to help you out. While most forex brokers are decent and honest, not all are. It pays to be able to defend yourself against less scrupulous brokers. Avoiding broker fraud ought to be a priority for people who trade foreign exchange pairs, then – and that’s where we can help. Below is a list of brokers who we have deemed to not be trustworthy for a variety of reasons. And if you are concerned about a particular broker, contact us with details to alert us with the potential broker fraud going on. From there, we can go ahead and research and review the broker in question and help prevent other users from falling victim to any dodgy practices. And we’ll use this information to keep the list as updated as possible – so check back here for all the latest updates when you can.
Table of contents
Investigated brokers
The sad reality of the foreign exchange trading world is that there are people who are out to make a fraudulent buck from innocent traders trying to build their portfolios. Whether it’s insider trading or some other manipulation of the international markets, trading fraud can take many guises – and it can even have links to the wider stock markets as well. As a result, it’s wise to keep yourself fully informed about what the brokers you are considering are up to – and make decisions to avoid those who don’t offer the level of safety and security you require.
Below is an up to date list of the brokers which we strongly advise traders to choose to avoid. There are plenty of other brokers out there who are trustworthy – and with these traders below exhibiting behaviours like copying websites of others, receiving warnings from regulators and more, it’s well worth avoiding them as you choose your own preferred provider.
Various global institutions have criticised the range of brokers included on this list. Whether it’s the australian securities and investments commission or the regulators of nations such as cyprus, there are organisations on here which have faced the wrath of some of the world’s leading oversight bodies. But, we’ve gone even further and responded to intelligence from our users in order to bring you an up to date list of brokers which, in our opinion, ought to be avoided. (see the full list at the bottom of this page).
Latest added forex brokers to avoid
- OT capital. They have gotten a warning from ASIC.
- EU capital. They ask you to deposit over and over again. They even try to get you to log in to your bank account over a shared screen.
- Multiplymarket is a clone of trading technologies.
- Bluetrading has an FCA warning for claiming to be FCA regulated when they, in fact, are not.
- Facebook group investment/profits, FBO trading signals & bitcoin investments – they don’t allow withdrawals and block you as soon as you ask for a withdrawal.
- ECN capital. They claim to be cysec regulated but are not.
- GBCFX – unregulated broker having issues handling withdrawals.
- Forex365options – they make you pay fees that aren’t even in any terms and conditions. Website hardly works either.
- Toptrades.Co – not regulated so should be avoided.
- Fx-premium. They are copying the website of JFD brokers so should be avoided!
Most trusted forex brokers
But despite the fact that there are clearly some untrustworthy web brokers out there in the forex world, it’s also the case that some brokers are more worthy of your trust. Many legitimate forex brokers have taken steps to gain the trust of their users, whether that’s by implementing rules against money laundering or simply by segregating client funds away from the operational funds of the broker’s business.
It’s not always possible to identify the legitimate foreign exchange brokers from first glance – but that’s where we can help. The list below is based on reviews which assess everything from the apps offered by particular forex brokers to the reputations they have among users for fairness.
To see a full list of our trusted foreign exchange brokers, why not check out this table?
Forex scams
Top 7 forex scams to avoid today
As forex markets promise to give you an incredible return on investment, they became trendy in the last few years. However, often forex traders don’t have a great understanding of how forex markets work and what a forex broker does exactly, which leaves the latter a lot of room to scam the trader. Whether it is about proposals on instagram or simply fake investment advice, beware.
It’s a complicated industry, and even experienced people fall victim to intricate trading schemes. There are quite a few variations of the forex fraud. Let’s take a look at a few of them. Feel free to add names of questionable forex platforms in the comments section, at the bottom of the article.
Forex trading strategies – scam 1: the whole package
According to the specialists at investorguide.Com, this might come your way by crooks “creating false customer accounts for the purpose of generating commissions, selling software that is supposed to garner large profits for the customer, false claims of customers making huge money, the theft of a customer’s account and phony marketing.
Forex scams draw customers in with sophisticated advertisements placed in the newspaper, heard on the radio, or seen on internet websites.
Recommended read: sell annuity payments scam
Forex promoters often lure investors into scams with various assurances, including their ability to predict an increase in currency prices and claims of high returns with low risk. An unregulated financial company trading off-exchange forex, foreign currency futures and options contracts with retail customers is illicit and may be a fraud or scam.
In many cases, investors may be guaranteed high returns in the tens of thousands of dollars over a few weeks or months, with a relatively low initial investment. In reality, the investor’s money is never used for forex trading, but is simply stolen.”
Watch the video below see a few extra tips from a victim, talking about forex scams, training courses, and hedge funds.
Forex trading strategies – scam 2: computer manipulation of bid/ask spreads
How does this scam work? According to dailyforex.Com (a great team of analysts and researchers who watch the market throughout the day to provide unique perspectives and helpful analysis on forex trading), “the point spread between the bid and ask basically reflects the commission of a back and forth transaction processed through a broker. The point spreads differ widely among brokers and differ between currency pairs.
Since brokers don’t usually offer the normal two- to three-point spread in the EUR/USD, for example, but go for spreads of seven pips or more, any potential gains resulting from a good investment were eaten away by commissions. These commissions found themselves in the broker’s pocket.
Suggested read: sell my structured settlement fraud
Today, it is unusual to find a broker that claims he takes a commission. Don’t be fooled by this promotion. He is still making his money from the difference in the spread but spreads are now regulated and only smaller spreads are permitted.
However, there are still offshore retail forex brokers who are not regulated by the CFTC, NFA or their nation of origin and it’s quite easy for these firms to pack up and disappear with the money when confronted with investigations of irregularities”. Great explanation by dailyforex.Com.
Suggested read: 13 gold IRA investment scams
Forex strategies – scam 3: commingling funds
In law, commingling is a breach of trust in which a fiduciary mixes funds that he holds in the care of a client with his own funds, making it difficult to determine which funds belong to the fiduciary and which belong to the client.
When it comes to the forex scam, the same team at dailyforex.Com explains: “commingling funds gives forex brokers the opportunity to pocket much of an investor’s money without the client ever noticing any discrepancy. The broker benefits financially during the trading and eventually disappears with a customer’s money.”
“if a forex trader looks carefully and states vigilant he/she can pick up are certain warning signs which can alert him/her when all is not on the straight and narrow. If a broker won’t allow the withdrawal of monies from investor accounts or if problems exist within the trading station, the trader should take immediate notice.
Additionally, guarantees of high performance levels-some much higher than those offered by other forex brokers-should be viewed with considerable skepticism.”
Suggested read: 15 types of securities fraud
Forex strategies – scam 4: robots/automated systems
Surprised? Don’t be. This is an increasing scam especially with the advancement of the technology. Questionable brokers sell automatic trading systems which claim to generate automatic trades even when the trader is sleeping.
Some shady companies sell their special “packages” for thousands of dollars, only to find out that some of these you can find on the internet for free.
“most of these robots have not been tested by an independent source for formal review. Their trading system’s parameters and optimization codes are usually invalid and at the end of the day, the system generates totally random buy and sell signals”, concludes dailyforex.Com.
Suggested read: list with government grants for individuals
Forex strategies – scam 5: fake investments funds
All kinds of HYIP funds have been notoriously showing up everywhere. Simply because they work; for the scammers! The high yield investment program funds ‘guarantee’ you a great level of return for temporary use of your money in their forex fund.
The concept that sells this ponzi scheme is that the investors of yesterday get paid back by the investors of tomorrow. How the scam works is that once the fund runs out of prospects, it closes down and takes whatever money it has with it.
Must read: online college course scam
Forex strategies – scam 6: signal seller membership
Just like the robots, certain ‘signal sellers’ claim to sell you information on which trades you should make in order to get rich. The trick is – they charge a weekly or monthly fee for their service (‘signals’).
Little do you know that not only you are lose your money, but they do not even offer you anything that will help improve your trading!
Forex on instagram – scam 7: fake accounts
With the advancement of technology, there are many well-run online scams on social media when it comes to forex. Some have over a thousand ‘followers’ losing money as the fraud is advertised as a get rich quick scheme.
People are signed up to a trading platform through so-called ‘companies’ and are asked to deposit their hard-earned money to deposit $400 (or EURO). Ultimately, they lose it all through investment advice from kids who earn a kickback when clients give money to the platform used to sign up.
These questionable forex platforms have recruited and paid multiple young adults from ages 18-21 to promote their scheme online. They get paid for luring new people into the system. They also use well known social media influencers to promote them and tell lies about the service.
How to avoid the forex scams:
There are many red flags you should be aware of. The first one would be when you are guaranteed a profit. There are no guarantee profits in forex. Use your computer and search reviews featuring the broker, or the system, or the signal seller.
Make sure the testimonials are genuine and do not come from their own websites. Check all the forex forums and google the name of the broker followed by the word ‘scam’.
Check their website very carefully. If they don’t have a legitimate contact page with phone numbers and emails, that’s another red flag.
Last but not least, keep in mind that there is no ‘miracle’ software that will figure out the forex market for you. If anybody would own that, why would they sell it?
How to report the forex strategies scams:
Make your family and friends aware of this scam by sharing it on social media using the buttons provided. You can also officially report the scammers to the federal trade commission using the link below:
How to protect yourself more:
If you want to be the first to find out the most notorious scams every week, feel free to subscribe to the scam detector newsletter here. You’ll receive periodical emails and we promise not to spam. Last but not least, use the comments section below to expose other scammers.
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Forex trading scams
Find out how unauthorised forex trading and brokerage firms work, how to avoid scams and what to do if you are scammed.
UK consumers are being increasingly targeted by unauthorised forex trading and brokerage firms offering the chance to trade in foreign exchange, contracts for difference, binary options, cryptoassets and other commodities.
They promise very high returns and guaranteed profits, either through a managed account where the firm makes trades on the investor’s behalf or by trading using the firm’s trading platform.
We are aware that scammers are targeting consumers searching for investments online, in particular through search engines like google and bing. Although some scammers offer high returns to tempt you into investing, they may also offer realistic returns to make their offer appear more legitimate. Those offering or promoting products or investment opportunities found through search engines are not necessarily authorised or regulated by the FCA. You can check the FCA warning list for firms to avoid.
How forex (FX) trading and brokerage scams work
Most consumers report they have initially received some returns from the firm to give the impression that their trading has been a success.
They will then be encouraged to invest more money but at this stage or soon after the returns stop, their account is suspended and there’s no further contact with the firm.
Many scam firms claim to be based in the UK and even claim to be FCA authorised.
Beware of clone firms
Many bogus trading and brokerage firms will use the name, ‘firm registration number’ (FRN) and address of firms and individuals who are FCA authorised. This is called a ‘clone firm’.
The scammers then give their own phone number, address and website details, sometimes claiming that a firm's contact details on the register are out of date.
Scammers might also claim to be an overseas firm, which don’t always have their full contact and website details listed on the register.
Scammers may even copy the website of an authorised firm, making subtle changes such as the phone number.
How to protect yourself
You should check the FCA register of authorised firms before dealing with any firm. If they’re not authorised by us, it’s probably a scam. You can also check our warning list of firms to avoid.
If the firm’s contact details aren’t on the register or the firm claims they’re out of date, call our consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768.
You should check the firm isn’t a clone firm by asking for their firm reference number (FRN) and contact details and then calling them back on the switchboard number on our register – never use a link in an email or website from the firm offering you an investment.
Always be wary if you’re contacted out of the blue, pressured to invest quickly or promised returns that sound too good to be true.
You should seriously consider seeking financial advice or guidance before investing. You should make sure that any firm you deal with is regulated by us and never take investment advice from the company that contacted you, as this may be part of the scam.
The money advice service has information on investing and about how to find a financial adviser. Alternatively, you could get further information from a group that represents advisers such as PIMFA.
If you have been scammed
You can report the firm or scam to us by contacting our consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768 or using our reporting form.
If you’ve invested with a firm that’s not authorised by the FCA, your investment is not protected by the UK’s financial services complaints and compensation scheme.
If you have already invested in a scam, fraudsters are likely to target you again or sell your details to other criminals.
The follow-up scam may be completely separate or related to the previous fraud, such as an offer to get your money back or to buy back the investment after you pay a fee.
If you have any concerns at all about a potential scam, contact us immediately.
10 forex scams & unregulated brokers to avoid
Forex traders with little experience can be deliberately targeted by unregulated and deceptive brokers, as well as other so-called industry professionals, attempting to fraudulently obtain their money.
Regulation of this relatively new industry is continuing to improve and provide traders with protection and peace of mind. However, there will always be shady operators, setting traps and using tricks to manipulate unsuspecting clients. Traders always need to be on their guard and extremely thorough with their checks before handing over large sums of money to anyone in the industry.
Here are ten common forex scams to look out for.
1. Fake / unregulated brokers
Fake, unregulated brokers can lure traders in with promises of high and even guaranteed profits, zero spreads, or other unrealistic offers. As much FX trading is now done online, it is easy for fraudulent companies to put together a high-tech web presence that looks entirely plausible. It is therefore vitally important to perform stringent checks on the broker before entering into any trading agreement.
Traders should check for a company address and verify it; check the website whois information and make sure it is registered in the company’s name (or their parent company name); and only go for brokers that are authorised and regulated by the relevant industry regulator, such as the FCA in the UK, or cysec in cyprus, etc.
The financial conduct authority have a useful tool that allows you to search for a company to see their regulatory status and history.
The regulatory status should be declared on the broker’s website and is an important indicator of whether or not a firm can be trusted. If they are regulated by a reputable regulator in their country of origin, then they are more likely to be legitimate, act responsibly, and be accountable for their actions; as they risk losing their licence and reputation if they fail to act in accordance with the required standards.
Brokers to avoid
Notorious unregulated brokers can be uncovered with a simple internet search. Examples of firms publicly highlighted by the FCA as being unauthorised include:
- AMFX (www.Amfx.Com)
- Banco FX or banko FX (www.Bancofx.Com)
- TFX traders (www.Tfxtraders.Com)
- Golden green FX limited (https://www.Ggfonline.Com, https://www.Goldengreenforex.Com)
A few reputable alternatives include avatrade and etoro.
2. Clone broker firms
Some firms may appear to be regulated at first glance, as they are registered on the regulator website and able to provide a registration number, however further investigation reveals that they are just extremely similar to a genuine, regulated broker. They may have just used a slightly different spelling or a variation of the registered broker’s name. This highlights the importance of carrying out detailed and thorough checks before entering into an agreement with a broker.
3. Clone regulator websites
Another way a fake broker may convince a trader that they are legitimate is by publishing their regulatory status on their website and linking through to the regulator web page where their entry appears. Except that it isn’t the regulator website at all, and is actually a clone of the register that they have deliberately set up to appear authentic.
To avoid falling into this trap, be sure to go to the actual regulator website and search the register for the broker from there, rather than trusting a link from the broker’s site.
4. Signal sellers
Signal sellers can be companies or individuals claiming to be able to identify the best trading opportunities, and when they are fraudulent, they often promise quick and easy profits.
They may allege to have extensive experience and expertise, remarkable technical analysis abilities, or privileged access to news affecting the direction of the markets; and these statements are often backed up by glowing testimonials from numerous traders who apparently have made significant profits from the services. The information is provided for a fee, but of course, there is no way to recoup this outlay if it proves to be bogus. If a trader does want to go ahead and use a signal seller, they are responsible for vetting them and verifying their reliability before proceeding with the transaction.
5. Trading robot sellers
Automated systems, more commonly known today as ‘robots’, are also offered by scammers purporting to reward traders with high returns for little effort. They may claim that their robots examine price volatility and other factors in order to assess the best time to enter or exit a market. However, often the trades are simply random and absent of any kind of logic. Again, the sales page is regularly accompanied by numerous fake testimonials from traders declaring how the robot has earned them significant profits generating trades on their behalf. If a trader wishes to use an automated system as part of their trading strategy, then extensive research should be conducted to ensure scam robot sellers are avoided.
6. Forex ponzi schemes or high yield investment programs (hyips)
Ponzi schemes are still one of the most well-known scams around and alarm bells should ring straight away if a forex investment scheme seems too good to be true. In a typical example, money is diverted from people entering the scheme to pay the exceptional profits promised to previous investors. The cycle continues: word spreads about the extraordinary scheme, and as more people join, more money becomes available to pay the alleged profits. Eventually, the scheme collapses and/or the scammer disappears with everyone’s money.
7. Fraudulent fund managers
Trading forex can be intimidating, particularly for those entering into it for the first time, so when a fund account manager comes along promising high returns for minimal risk, it can be a tempting prospect. When investors start to receive additional demands for money as markets did not perform as predicted and the fund manager needs to correct the position, this is inevitably a bad sign. Some people can repeatedly fall for this scam, though, until eventually the penny drops (pardon the pun) and the money manager disappears, along with all the investor’s money.
8. Overpriced training & education programs
Traders should be wary of education programs with a promise of profitable results. These are often sold for inordinate fees and are unable to deliver on their promises.
Whilst training programs can be useful for learning the basic process and guidelines, any course declaring that it can teach someone to become an expert in no time at all is probably worth avoiding altogether.
There is a wealth of free information available that may be just as or even more useful than a costly training program: youtube videos; podcasts; webinars and demo accounts give a potential trader the opportunity to test their abilities before trading with real money; and so on.
9. Manipulation of bid / ask spreads
This scam relies on the naivety of the trader, as it assumes that they are going to be more concerned with checking market movements than the commission being taken by the broker through their bid and ask point spread. The wider the spread, the more money is being pocketed by the broker, and this reduces any potential profits for the trader. The scam is not as common as it used to be thanks to better regulation of the industry and increasingly savvy traders, but it still exists, particularly with offshore, unregulated brokers.
10. Stop loss hunting
Deceitful brokers have been known to manually close a position before reaching the stop loss set by traders in order to gain additional trading commissions. This is not very common and is unlikely with a regulated broker, however, is still potentially something to look out for – particularly when using a market maker broker.
Forex broker scam list
If you have ever tried conducting an internet search on scam forex brokers (scam broker list), you know for sure that the number of outcomes is really shocking. While the foreign exchange market is gradually getting more regulated, but there are a lot of unscrupulous companies, which shouldn’t be in the industry.
If you relish a thought of trying to trade currencies on your laptop, you need to find a forex broker you can trust. It should be reliable enough. Stay away from those companies in the forex market, which make you doubt and hesitate.
To sort out the worthiest companies from numerous mediocre stuff and scams, we should make a series of steps. You shouldn’t deposit your money to your trading account if you aren’t confident with the broker. Forex trading is a serious business, which requires a great deal of intelligence, patience, and dedication. However, when a bad broker implements a number of harmful policies, even a guru of technical analysis won’t be able to earn a profit. Here below we’ll discuss all the intricacies of relationships between brokers and their clients and point out what really matters in choosing a broker. However, if you’re reluctant to dig in a forex broker scams list or you’re reluctant to memorize 6 ways forex brokers cheat you, just stick with a ready-made solution – fxmcapital, a well-regulated forex broker with an impressive number of returning clients.
True forex facts versus fiction
When closely watching a potential forex broker, you require learning to separate true fact from worthless fiction. Well, having viewed all these articles, forum posts as well as disgruntled feedback about a particular forex broker, you might assume that any trader is a pure scam, unable to let its clients earn a good income. Would it be a sound fact? Here the truth is that literally, anyone who has recently failed to make money in the foreign exchange market can post insulting content on the web blaming the company for his own mediocre strategy.
The internet is flooded with absurd accusations of forex brokers. Those who don’t want to find a reason in themselves, prefer merely extending a scam forex broker list, backing it with foolish statements, such as “the market reversed when I opened my trading position.”
It’s quite real that novice forex players fail to benefit from a well-tested strategy or a sound trading plan. These folks prefer to fully rely on their psychology. They believe they feel where the market is going. However, to say the truth, there’s a 50% likelihood that they will be right. When the novice trader opens a trading position, he bases his decision solely on emotions. Experienced market players certainly know these junior tendencies, and they don’t enter the market when there’s no need to do it. Having failed to move along with the market, traders are more likely to accuse their brokers of hunting down their profits or something like this instead of analyzing the true reasons for their failures.
Of course, it’s possible that a trader can lose his money because of his broker’s fault . It can take place when a broker tires to rack up trading commissions at the trader’s expense. By the way, there have been reports of brokers intentionally moving quoted rates for the purpose of triggering stop orders, while other clients’ rates haven’t even moved to that price. Fortunately, for investors, such a situation turns out to be an outlier. Most probably, it won’t happen again. You need to keep in mind that forex trading shouldn’t be regarded as a zero-sum game. What’s more, forex brokers mainly earn from increased trading volumes. In general, normal brokers are interested in having long-term customers who trade on a regular basis. Such clients can only bring them constant profits.
As for the slippage, it can often be explained by behavioral economics. That’s a common thing for novice market players to panic. They’re afraid of missing a crucial market move. Therefore, they impatiently click on their buy button. They can also be afraid of losing everything and open a short trading position for this purpose. In an extremely volatile exchange rate environment, the broker is unable to ensure that this particular order is going to be executed at the specified price. It generates abrupt movements and nasty slippage. It’s also true for the stop as well as limit orders. Well, some forex brokers can guarantee that all of the client’s limit and stop orders will be executed, while others can’t guarantee it for objective reasons, and they even openly tell about it. Slippage can be noticed even in more transparent financial markets. The matter is that markets keep moving and brokers don’t always obtain the ordered price.
The role of communication between traders and brokers
Real problems can start evolving when communication between a trader and his broker becomes problematic. If a market player fails to get responses from his broker or the company comes up with uncertain answers to the client’s questions, this fact doesn’t speak in favor of the broker. Of course, such problems need to be tackled and explained to the market player, while the forex broker needs to be helpful and demonstrate good customer relations. Perhaps, the worst thing that can occur between a trader and his broker is the client’s failure to withdraw earnings from his account.
Broker research can protect you
Fortunately, it’s quite possible for you to protect yourself from mediocre brokers and dangerous scams. Just make the following steps:
- Conduct thorough online research of the forex broker you’re interested in. A generic internet investigation can provide relevant insights on whether downbeat comments could be an irritated client or something more serious. Additionally, a perfect supplement to this type of research will be the brokercheck by the financial industry regulatory authority. It will disclose all legal actions against this company, if the broker has real faults, of course.
- Ensure there aren’t any complaints about not being capable of withdrawing earnings. If there are such negative reviews, you should contact the trader if possible to have him interviewed about his experience.
- Examine all the fine print of the corresponding documents when starting an account. The matter is that incentives to open a trading account are often utilized against traders each time they try to have their earnings withdrawn. For example, you deposit $10,000 and obtain a $2,000 bonus. After this, you lose your funds and try to withdraw some remaining money, but your broker tells that they are unable to withdraw your bonus funds. Don’t forget to read the fine print. Thus, you will guard yourself against nasty pitfalls.
- If you’re fully satisfied with your research on a certain company, start a mini account or any other trading account with a tiny amount of funds. Then, try trading it for a month. After this, you should try to withdraw your earnings. If everything has gone OK, it should be relatively safe to more actively replenish your trading account. In case of having any issues, try to discuss them with your broker. On the contrary, if your experience of working with this broker is negative, don’t hesitate to tell this story online. Thus, you will help other people not to get into this trap.
By the way, you can’t determine the level of risks involved considering only the size of the forex broker. As a rule, larger forex brokers grow by simply providing a certain standard of trading services. However, the 2008-2009 financial meltdown taught us that a big or popular company isn’t always a safe solution. If you don’t want to make a thorough financial broker background check on your own, you can always opt for a simpler solution – fxmcapital. Working with this reputable company r you can forget about forex broker scams and enjoy the timely withdrawal of your earnings. You will never find fxmcapital in a forex broker blacklist
Brokers and their commissions
Forex brokers who are paid commissions for selling and purchasing securities can sometimes fail to resist a strong temptation to effect transactions to earn a commission. Evidently, those who do this too much can be accused of churning. Churning means placing trades for another purpose, different from the client’s one. The forex brokers caught churning are bound to pay fines. Other punishments include reprimands, dismissal, suspension, disbarment, to say nothing of criminal sanctions.
More about churning
The SEC defines churning as a situation when a broker buys or sells assets in a client’s trading account for generating commissions, which benefit the company. To conduct churning, the broker requires control over the client’s investment decisions. If you notice sales or purchases in your account that you haven’t actually made on your own, that’s churning. It’s an unethical and illegal action, violating numerous securities regulations.
A typical sign of churning is a situation when you notice securities bought or sold in your trading account that doesn’t actually match your investment goal. For instance, if your goal is to earn a stable income, then you shouldn’t see buying and selling positions in your account for small-cap equity or technology equities. As for churning with derivatives, including call and put options, it’s much harder to notice due to the fact these financial instruments can be utilized with the aim of accomplishing a variety of goals. However, selling and purchasing calls and puts should take place only if you demonstrate a high-risk tolerance. Apparently, selling puts and calls can bring current income if it’s carried out rationally.
How watchdogs assess churning
An arbitration panel is expected to consider a number of factors when conducting hearings to figure out whether this particular company has been churning user accounts or not. They are going to assess the trades, placed in light of the customer’s level of education, sophistication, experience and the nature of the trader’s relationship with the company. Moreover, the panel will also estimate the number of solicited vs. Unsolicited transactions as well as the dollar amount of commissions, which have been generated against the backdrop of the customer’s losses or profits as a result of these transactions.
However, there are times when it might seem like your forex broker might actually be churning your trading account. However, it mightn’t necessarily be what you think. If you have any questions as for this or feel uneasy about what your forex broker is doing with your funds, you shouldn’t hesitate. Instead, you require consulting your securities attorney. Alternatively, you can try filing a complaint on the official website of the SEC.
What to do with a bad broker
To our great regret, you have few options in this case. Nevertheless, you can still try to do the following things:
- Attentively view all the provided documents just to ensure that your forex broker is doing wrong and against the law. However, if you’ve overlooked something important or neglected reading the documents signed by you, then you’re even in a worse position.
- Talks about the course of action you are going to take if the company doesn’t adequately respond to your questions or it has refused to send back your earnings. Probable measures might include reporting the case to FINRA or another other appropriate watchdog and posting your story online.
Conclusion
While market players might blame their forex brokers for their decreasing deposits, it’s quite possible that brokers are wrong. As a forex trader, you need to be thorough. You should conduct research on a suspicious company before opening a trading account with them. If your research appears to be optimistic for this company, you can start with a small deposit, make a couple of trades and then try to withdraw your earnings. You require verifying that your forex broker is involved in a number of illegal activities against you. For example, it might be churning. Try to reach out to your broker and ask all the necessary questions. If you haven’t been answered, shift to another stage. Come up with complaints and ask reputable watchdogs, such as FINRA, SEC, etc., to help.
How to avoid forex trading scams in 2021
Forex markets trade trillions of dollars a day. Traders around the globe are always looking for the best broker to trade forex, cfds, binary options, stocks, cryptocurrencies, etc. With new forex brokers popping up constantly, determining the legitimacy of a broker can be a real challenge. As a consumer, it is vital to research a company before depositing money to trade. At forexbrokers.Com, it’s our mission to assist you as much as possible with that research.
Most trusted forex brokers comparison
Taken from our forex broker comparison tool, here's a comparison of the must trusted forex brokers.
Feature | IG visit site | swissquote | CMC markets visit site | saxo bank visit site |
trust score | 99 | 99 | 99 | 99 |
year founded | 1974 | 1996 | 1989 | 1992 |
publicly traded (listed) | yes | yes | yes | no |
bank | yes | yes | no | yes |
tier-1 licenses | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
tier-2 licenses | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
tier-3 licenses | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
authorised in the european union | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Questions to ask to avoid a forex trading scam
- Is the broker regulated?
- If regulated, how trustworthy is the regulatory body?
- Is the broker offering profits or rewards for opening an account?
- Is the broker offering a cash bonus for opening an account?
- Is the broker offering automatic trades or signals to guarantee profits?
- Is any credible information about the company included on its website, such as company history, financials, headquarters' address, or similar?
- If awards are cited, can I verify their authenticity?
- If a big corporate sponsorship is promoted (e.G. Athlete sponsorship), am I doing my due dilligence to ensure the company can be trusted?
1) is the broker regulated?
Unregulated brokers do not have to report to a governing body. This means that if they scam you in any way, whether it be “glitches” or “malfunctions” causing sever slippage in their system, or you go to make a withdrawal and they don’t process it (steal your money), you are out of luck. Beyond posting a bad review online, there is little you can do because these brokers have no legal authority to answer to.
How do I check if a broker is regulated? The easiest way to check a broker’s registration is to look for it at the bottom of the website. The picture below is the bottom of 12trader, a broker we recommend avoiding. You’ll notice that nowhere in this picture is a regulatory body mentioned. The “about us” pages on the site link to an account login prompt. Nowhere on the site is there any mention of regulation or company history. All of these warning signs should make you cautious.
Now let’s look at the bottom of the homepage of city index, a trusted and regulated broker.
You will notice 1) the company specifically warns of the risks involved in trading cfds, 2) the company is registered in england and wales and has posted an address, and 3) the company is authorized and regulated by the financial conduct authority, and has posted a registration number.
Conclusion: A regulated broker is required to include proper risk disclaimers and regulatory information at the bottom of all their website pages. To make it easy for investors, forexbrokers.Com includes a trust score for each broker, which assesses overall trustworthiness based on where the broker is regulated and its history as a firm.
2) if regulated, how trustworthy is the regulatory body?
Some scam brokers claim to be regulated and registered by a governing body that does not monitor or regulate forex companies.
For example, let’s look at evolve markets.
The disclosures at the bottom of the homepage give the appearance of a regulated broker. There is a warning of the risks of trading cfds, and there is a legal section. Upon further examination of the legal section, you’ll notice that while the firm is registered as an international broker company in st. Vincent & the grenadines, it is not regulated.
This statement from st. Vincent & the grenadines shows there is a warning against false claims of registration or license.
How do I know what regulatory bodies are legitimate?
Forex brokers that are regulated in a major hub are always more trustworthy. Brokers in emerging hubs can also be trustworthy, but caution is warranted. Based on our annual study of regulatory trustworthiness, here is a list of the regulatory bodies we track and how trustworthy each one is:
- FCA regulated – financial conduct authority – united kingdom – (great)
- Cysec regulated – cyprus securities & exchange commission – cyprus (OK)
- ASIC regulated – australian securities & investment commission – australia (good)
- SFC authorized – securities futures commission – hong kong (good)
- MAS authorized – monetary authority of singapore – singapore (good)
- FSA authorized – financial services agency – japan (good)
- IIROC authorized – investment industry regulatory organization of canada – canada (good)
- FINMA authorized – swiss financial market supervisory authority – switzerland (good)
- FMA authorized – financial markets authority – new zealand (OK)
Conclusion: double check the authority of the governing body that regulates the broker you are looking at. You can go to the website of the governing body to search for the registration number and verify its legitimacy. To help investors find a trusted broker where they live, we have created country-specific forex broker guides.
3) is the broker offering profits or rewards for opening an account?
Scam brokers often make claims such as “make $50 a day from a $250 investment” or “make 80% returns on profit signals” or “96% success rate.” these claims are a scam, regardless of whether they are being made for forex, cfds, or binary options. Forex brokers should not promise returns at all, small or large. Simply put, if a broker is promising to make you money, it is a scam. Other common scam practices include advertising pictures of expensive cars that are given away to lucky investors.
This wikipedia page on binary options does a great job of summarizing risks related to binary options:
"many binary option "brokers" have been exposed as fraudulent operations. In those cases, there is no real brokerage; the customer is betting against the broker, who is acting as a bucket shop. Manipulation of price data to cause customers to lose is common. Withdrawals are regularly stalled or refused by such operations; if a client has good reason to expect payment, the operator will simply stop taking their phone calls. Though binary options sometimes trade on a regulated exchange, they are generally unregulated, trading on the internet, and prone to fraud."
Conclusion: if a binary options or forex broker promises you big returns on your money, this is a clear sign of a scam. You will not make $100,000 on a mega-trade; you will not make a 96% profit in 30 seconds; and you will not win a $40,000 car by depositing $2,000. Save your money and STAY AWAY.
4) is the broker offering a cash bonus for opening an account?
When a broker offers an abnormally high cash bonus, is not regulated, and does not show offer details for the bonus, then you are likely dealing with a scam broker. For example, 1000extra hints at a bonus of $1,000 with their vague promotional offer. If you click around trying to gather more information you are redirected to sign up for an account.
1000extra is not regulated, has minimal information about the company, and has scam reports across the web.
Conclusion: in most regulated regions around the world, promotional bonuses for opening a new account are not allowed. The two exceptions are the united states, which is for US citizens only, and asia.
5) is the broker offering automatic trades or signals to guarantee profits? Continue reading
About the author: steven hatzakis steven hatzakis is the global director of research for forexbrokers.Com. Steven previously served as an editor for finance magnates, where he authored over 1,000 published articles about the online finance industry. Steven is an active fintech and crypto industry researcher and advises blockchain companies at the board level. Over the past 20 years, steven has held numerous positions within the international forex markets, from writing to consulting to serving as a registered commodity futures representative.
Trading cfds, FX, and cryptocurrencies involve a high degree of risk. All providers have a percentage of retail investor accounts that lose money when trading cfds with their company. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money and whether you understand how cfds, FX, and cryptocurrencies work. All data was obtained from a published website as of 12/14/2020 and is believed to be accurate, but is not guaranteed. The forexbrokers.Com staff is constantly working with its online broker representatives to obtain the latest data. If you believe any data listed above is inaccurate, please contact us using the link at the bottom of this page.
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IG - 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading cfds with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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Is your forex broker a scam?
If you do an internet search on forex broker scams, the number of results is staggering. While the forex market is slowly becoming more regulated, there are many unscrupulous brokers who should not be in business.
When you're looking to trade forex, it's important to identify brokers who are reliable and viable, and to avoid the ones that are not. In order to sort out the strong brokers from the weak and the reputable ones from those with shady dealings, we must go through a series of steps before depositing a large amount of capital with a broker.
Trading is hard enough in itself, but when a broker implements practices that work against the trader, making a profit can be nearly impossible.
Key takeaways
- If your broker does not respond to you, it may be a red flag that he or she is not looking out for your best interests.
- To make sure you're not being duped by a shady broker, do your research, make sure there are no complaints, and read through all the fine print on documents.
- Try opening a mini account with a small balance first, and make trades for a month before attempting a withdrawal.
- If you see buy and sell trades for securities that don't fit your objectives, your broker may be churning.
- If you are stuck with a bad broker, review all your documents and discuss your course of action before taking more drastic measures.
Separating forex fact from fiction
When researching a potential forex broker, traders must learn to separate fact from fiction. For instance, faced with all sorts of forums posts, articles, and disgruntled comments about a broker, we could assume that all traders fail and never make a profit. The traders that fail to make profits then post content online that blames the broker (or some other outside influence) for their own failed strategies.
One common complaint from traders is that a broker was intentionally trying to cause a loss in the form of statements such as, "as soon as I placed the trade, the direction of the market reversed" or "the broker stop hunted my positions," and "I always had slippage on my orders, and never in my favor." these types of experiences are common among traders and it is quite possible that the broker is not at fault.
Rookie traders
It is also entirely possible that new forex traders fail to trade with a tested strategy or trading plan. Instead, they make trades based on psychology (e.G., if a trader feels the market has to move in one direction or the other) and there is essentially a 50% chance they will be correct.
When the rookie trader enters a position, they are often entering when their emotions are waning. Experienced traders are aware of these junior tendencies and step in, taking the trade the other way. This befuddles new traders and leaves them feeling that the market—or their brokers—are out to get them and take their individual profits. Most of the time, this is not the case. It is simply a failure by the trader to understand market dynamics.
Broker failures
On occasion, losses are the broker's fault. This can occur when a broker attempts to rack up trading commissions at the client's expense. There have been reports of brokers arbitrarily moving quoted rates to trigger stop orders when other brokers' rates have not moved to that price.
Luckily for traders, this type of situation is an outlier and not likely to occur. One must remember that trading is usually not a zero-sum game, and brokers primarily make commissions with increased trading volumes. Overall, it is in the best interest of brokers to have long-term clients who trade regularly and thus, sustain capital or make a profit.
Behavioral trading
The slippage issue can often be attributed to behavioral economics. It is common practice for inexperienced traders to panic. They fear missing a move, so they hit their buy key, or they fear losing more and they hit the sell key.
In volatile exchange rate environments, the broker cannot ensure an order will be executed at the desired price. This results in sharp movements and slippage. The same is true for stop or limit orders. Some brokers guarantee stop and limit order fills, while others do not.
Even in more transparent markets, slippage happens, markets move, and we don't always get the price we want.
Communication is key
Real problems can begin to develop when communication between a trader and a broker begins to break down. If a trader does not receive responses from their broker or the broker provides vague answers to a trader's questions, these are common red flags that a broker may not be looking out for the client's best interest.
Issues of this nature should be resolved and explained to the trader, and the broker should also be helpful and display good customer relations. One of the most detrimental issues that may arise between a broker and a trader is the trader's inability to withdraw money from an account.
Broker research protects you
Protecting yourself from unscrupulous brokers in the first place is ideal. The following steps should help:
- Do an online search for reviews of the broker. A generic internet search can provide insights into whether negative comments could just be a disgruntled trader or something more serious. A good supplement to this type of search is brokercheck from the financial industry regulatory authority (FINRA), which indicates whether there are outstanding legal actions against the broker. And if appropriate, gain a clearer understanding of the U.S. Regulations for forex brokers.
- Make sure there are no complaints about not being able to withdraw funds. If there are, contact the user if possible and ask them about their experience.
- Read through all the fine print of the documents when opening an account. Incentives to open an account can often be used against the trader when attempting to withdraw funds. For instance, if a trader deposits $10,000 and gets a $2,000 bonus, and then the trader loses money and attempts to withdraw some remaining funds, the broker may say they cannot withdraw the bonus funds. Reading the fine print will help make sure you understand all contingencies in these types of instances.
- If you are satisfied with your research on a particular broker, open a mini account or an account with a small amount of capital. Trade it for a month or more, and then attempt to make a withdrawal. If everything has gone well, it should be relatively safe to deposit more funds. If you have problems, attempt to discuss them with the broker. If that fails, move on and post a detailed account of your experience online so others can learn from your experience.
It should be pointed out that a broker's size cannot be used to determine the level of risk involved. While larger brokers grow by providing a certain standard of service, the 2008-2009 financial crisis taught us that a big or popular firm isn't always safe.
The temptation to churn
Brokers or planners who are paid commissions for buying and selling securities can sometimes succumb to the temptation to effect transactions simply for the purpose of generating a commission. Those who do this excessively can be found guilty of churning—a term coined by the securities and exchange commission (SEC) that denotes when a broker places trades for a purpose other than to benefit the client. those who are found guilty of this can face fines, reprimands, suspension, dismissal, disbarment, or even criminal sanctions in some cases.
SEC defines churning
The SEC defines churning in the following manner:
The key to remember here is that the trades that are placed are not increasing your account value. If you have given your broker trading authority over your account, then the possibility of churning can only exist if they are trading your account heavily, and your balance either remains the same or decreases in value over time.
Of course, it is possible that your broker may be genuinely attempting to grow your assets, but you need to find out exactly what they are doing and why. If you are calling the shots and the broker is following your instructions, then that cannot be classified as churning.
Evaluate your trades
One of the clearest signs of churning can be when you see buy and sell trades for securities that don’t fit your investment objectives. For example, if your objective is to generate a current stable income, then you should not be seeing buy and sell trades on your statements for small-cap equity or technology stocks or funds.
Churning with derivatives such as put and call options can be even harder to spot, as these instruments can be used to accomplish a variety of objectives. But buying and selling puts and calls should, in most cases, only be happening if you have a high-risk tolerance. Selling calls and puts can generate current income as long as it is done prudently.
How regulators evaluate churning
An arbitration panel will consider several factors when they conduct hearings to determine whether a broker has been churning an account. They will examine the trades that were placed in light of the client’s level of education, experience, and sophistication as well as the nature of the client’s relationship with the broker. They will also weigh the number of solicited versus unsolicited trades and the dollar amount of commissions that have been generated as compared to the client’s gains or losses as a result of these trades.
There are times when it may seem like your broker may be churning your account, but this may not necessarily be the case. If you have questions about this and feel uneasy about what your advisor is doing with your money, then don’t hesitate to consult a securities attorney or file a complaint on the SEC's website.
Already stuck with a bad broker?
Unfortunately, options are very limited at this stage. However, there are a few things you can do. First, read through all documents to make sure your broker is actually in the wrong. If you have missed something or failed to read the documents you signed, you may have to assume the blame.
Next, discuss the course of action you will take if the broker does not adequately answer your questions or provide a withdrawal. Steps may include posting comments online or reporting the broker to FINRA or the appropriate regulatory body in your country.
The bottom line
While traders may blame brokers for their losses, there are times when brokers really are at fault. A trader needs to be thorough and conduct research on a broker before opening an account and if the research turns up positive for the broker, then a small deposit should be made, followed by a few trades and then a withdrawal. If this goes well, then a larger deposit can be made.
However, if you are already in a problematic situation, you should verify that the broker is conducting illegal activity (such as churning), attempt to have your questions answered, and if all else fails, and/or report the person to the SEC, FINRA, or another regulatory body that could enforce action against them.
The biggest forex scams in history
The forex trading market is full of fraudsters and scam brokers, it is sad, but it is true. Where there is a possibility to make money, there are always people who want to take advantage of the situation and make profits. There have been lots of small and large cases of forex trading fraud.
How forex trading scam works
The fraudsters usually use the same scheme which is called a ponzi scheme and is very similar to the pyramid. There are one or two people who run it, they are offering investors to transfer them money which they will invest in the forex market successfully and give back double or even triple profits. When you are reading this now you might think, c’mon how could anyone believe it, it already sounds like a scam. You are right, it does sound like something suspicious, however, the scammers are well aware of it and choose their victims carefully.
The ones that are most vulnerable to get scammed are the beginner traders – who want to become millionaires in a very short time, drive lamborghinis and live a filthy rich life. These people are promised exactly what they are dreaming about at that’s it, they are already in a forex ponzi scheme trap.
Apart from the beginner traders, the majority of people who get tricked are elder people. They are a good target for the scammers for two reasons. First, most of them have some sort of savings they can invest and second, unfortunately, many of them lack the financial education on investment matters.
The third type of victims are people with financial problems, we can see these people in developed as well as developing countries. Sadly, when they are given an “opportunity” to receive big profits they seize it immediately without a second thought.
Here’s what happens once the investment is made. As the normal pyramid schemes work, the investors are encouraged to bring more people to invest. Many of them believe in this opportunity so much, they are naturally willing to let others know about it too. Usually, the first line of the investors receive some profits, but it is not profits made from investment, it is the money that other people have given away. With this move, scammers make people believe that they are actually investing the money and while some of the early investors have already received the profits, others need to wait a little bit more – which means -forever.
This is how forex scams usually work, there can be some variations, but the base model is always similar. Now, let’s take a look at the biggest forex scams in history.
Black diamond forex scam
Black diamond fraud is one of the biggest and well-known ones. It started in 2007 by two individuals, keith simmons, and deanne salazar. The pair operated several huge hedge funds, they had several partners in crime and together had lured over 300 customers to invest in forex market with them. The customers were promised to receive a minimum 4% of monthly return and were ensured that the company had been successfully running for three years and were paying back the profits without any issue.
Customers were also promised that loses would be maintained on a maximum of 20% and there would always be a possibility for withdrawal.
The promises were so assuring that from 2007 up to 2010 clients had invested a total of $35 million. In 2010 the scheme was finally revealed as the pair was not able to pay any money to the investors. Guess why? – right! They never actually invested the money. Obviously, the investors filed a complaint and CFTC received the case in 2011. After the investigation it was discovered that the head of the scam was simmons, who brought salazar into the business with bryan coates who was running genesis wealth management, LLC in 2008 and jonathan davey who was running four companies: divin circulation services, LLC; divine stewardship LLC; safe harbour ventures inc; and safe harbour wealth, inc. Needless to say, there was nothing divine or safe there and companies were running a scam.
The forex ponzi scheme ended unsuccessfully for black diamond as the mastermind was arrested and was sentenced to 40 years in prison, he also had to pay a fine of $35 million. The other participants of the scheme were also arrested and all of them had to pay a total amount of $76 million as a fine.
One of the largest forex scam via radio
In 2003, the citizens of minnesota started hearing advertisement of a currency investment program on the radio. The money manager, trevor cook, who was once a sports bookie in college and turned to a multimillion-dollar commodities trader was offering safe investments and double-digit annual returns. More than 1000 people trusted trevor cook and invested a high amount of money, a total of $190 million.
Unlike the black diamond, trevor cook actually invested part of the money. The investment was made with the crown forex SA, the brokerage that was having a serious problem with the swiss regulator and was going into bankruptcy. While cook was fully aware of it, it did not stop him to invest with the broker and obviously lost the money. At the same time, while part of the funds was actually invested, the majority of it was not and as the police investigated, cook was leading a classic forex ponzi scheme. The scheme was revealed in 2008 when during the financial crisis investors did not get any money back. Trevor cook was finally imprisoned in 2010.
Forex scams from the most trustworthy personas
People assume that some individuals can be trustworthy just because they represent the institutes that they trust.
Former naval pilot
Timothy caughlin thought that having the name of a former naval pilot was enough for the people to trust him with their money, and he was right! Surprisingly many people trusted without any suspicion once they knew that he was serving as a naval pilot. As a result, he lured about 5000 individuals and robbed over $12.8 million from them. I think you will not be surprised to know that the police have not found any trace of him serving as a naval aviator.
Former sheriff’s deputy
Unlike timothy caughlin, davin N. Hawkins really was a sheriff’s deputy. Leading his forex trading fraud, the 44 years old former deputy in colorado convinced his friends and some of his coworkers to invest in his forex trading operation. Not to be detected he had a smart fundraising tactic and was keeping it modest, however, he as able to receive $1.2 million from the participants, who were assured that they would receive 20 percent returns every month. It wasn’t very realistic, but david still invested the money. However, the investments were unsuccessful and once he was convinced that he was losing money he actually gave back up to $1 million to the participants. This is why once he was accused in fraud the judged only gave him a sentence of 30 months in prison.
A pastor?
Okay, we cannot trust someone saying he is a former naval pilot or an official we actually know, but can we trust the one who serves god? As it seems – no. An interesting forex trading scam was made by louis alonso serna, a 61-year old preacher from los angeles. He was claiming to be operating in a very profitable forex program that generated 20 percent monthly returns. The pastor prepared a video, titled “prosperity gospel” and was showing a video to the latino community going to his church, promising money miracles. Many people were persuaded by the pastor to take loans to invest and in a result, he got over $4 million. His forex ponzi scam was revealed in 2014 and the pastor was arrested, the officials were amazed by how one pastor alone could prepare such sophisticated materials for his scheme.
Forex trading scams in south africa
All of the biggest forex trading scams I have talked about happened in the united states, it might give you a feeling that such things usually happen there and investors in south africa are safe. Sadly, it is a false assumption.
Colin davids was running a company named platinum forex in 2013. He was claiming that all the participants who would give him money for investments would receive 48 percent and 84 percent of monthly returns. While the percentage is suspiciously high, many south africans were tricked and decided to take this opportunity. Colin davids managed to get more than R100 million. At that time the financial service board (FSB) learned that the company was not licensed and hence, did not have the right to provide any kind of investment service. No need to say that davids did not invest any money and was spending it on his personal expenses. This was one of the biggest and most famous forex trading scams in south africa.
How to avoid forex scams
As you can see the forex trading scams have one thing in common and they can be detected easily if the investor is careful. All of the scammers are promising a very high return that simply cannot be the truth. Here are some ways to protect yourself from a forex trading scam.
- If someone tries to convince you that if you give him or her some money you will receive unbelievable monthly profits – simply do not believe them as everything that looks too good to be true – is not true
- If someone you personally know tells you about a “great opportunity” they got last week and they will receive the profits soon and tries to convince you to join him in it – there is a high chance that person is a victim of forex pyramid scheme.
- If the brokerage offers you high profitable safe investment service, always check everything about the company, the address of their headquarters, if they are regulated by the FSCA (you can check it on the official website of the regulator), also try to find reviews and opinions provided by reliable sources and people who have personal experience with the broker.
Last, but not least, always check the south african broker reviews and make sure you check the features of the broker thoroughly. Following this advice will help you keep yourself safe from forex trading scams in south africa. Most importantly, it does not matter how attractive the offer is, nobody will tell you there is a big risk involved and you can actually receive very small or absolutely no money if they want to trick you.
Forex broker scams list
If you are looking for a complete forex broker list, then you are in the right place. Today we are going to provide a forex broker list that has all registered brokers of the world. Because in the forex market, it is essential to find a legit broker.
Pros of working with a legit broker
One of our previous articles is about forex scammers and the tricks they use to fool the people. But do you know the benefits of working with registered brokers? Here are a few of them. Have a look at these advantages.
- If you are working with a regulated broker, then you have no tension about your money. You are mentally satisfied, even if you have to pay a high amount.
- A legit broker always follows the rules of regulatory organizations. According to their terms, the broker has to clear the dues of each investor in case of bankruptcy.
- You can case a file if any fraudulent activity happens to you against a legal forex broker. Legal bodies will take action on your complaint.
- Your money is in safe hands. You are aware of any activity happening to your account. A trader receives a transparent history and reports of all account activity.
- Legit brokers submit their financial reports to the auditory departments of their country.
Top-tier forex brokers list
There are many registered brokers in the world. But only some of them re able to leave a milestone in their journey. In the forex world, brokers are isolated by top- tier authorities. There are almost four top- tier authorities of the world that include the USA, canada, and australia. Have a detailed view of them.
UK brokers
The united kingdom has a unique place in the forex world. It is because of the best and admirable services of UK brokers. Brokers and investors are equally privileged by the regulations made by the financial conduct authority.
Here is a list of all brokers currently working under FCA.
- EXNESS
- Etoro
- Fxopen
- Interactive brokers
- Fxpro
- HYCM
- OANDA
- Saxo bank
- FXCM
- Activtrades
- Admiral markets
- Plus500
- IG
- Com
- CMC markets
- Octa FX
- ICM capital
- Hantec markets
- Core spreads
- BMFN
- Tradestation
- Fxgiants
- Degiro
- Tickmill
- City index
- Land-FX
- Axitrader
- Abshire-smith
- Ayondo
- Capital index
- Darwinex
- Fortrade
- FXCC
- GMG markets
- Infinox capital
- ATFX
- Key to markets
- IG
- Plus500
- CMC markets
- Swissquote
- Saxo bank
- Com
- City index
- FXCM
- Pepperstone
- Ava trade
Australia brokers
Forex brokers in australia are regulated by the australian securities and investment commission (ASIC). After the brokers of the UK, the most eligible and capable forex brokers belong to australia. Have a look at the legit forex brokers of australia.
- FP markets
- FXCM
- OANDA
- IC markets
- Fortrade
- Commsec
- CMC
- Plus500
- Pepperstone
- Thinkmarkets
- City index
- Invast global
- Toptradr
- GMT markets
- Hftrading
- Avatrade
- BCR
- DV markets
- Easymarkets
- Hantec markets
- GO markets
- Admiral markets
- Synergy markets
- FXCM australia
- Eightcap
- Phillipcapital australia
- Multibank exchange group (IKON capital)
- DMM FX
- KVB kunlun
- USGFX
- AUFX
- Blueberry markets
- Global prime FX
- Rubix fx
- Aetos AU
- Fxtrds
- Charterprime
- Olivefx
- Fxstream
- Ecntrade
- Tradediect365
- Forexcfds
- VT markets
- Cardiff global markets
- First index
- Merchantfx
- IFGM
- IFS markets
- Acy securities
- Royal 450
- ETO markets
- Ocean global markets
- Trend investor services
- Trademax capital
- Alpha trade
- ZERO markets
- FX INDEX
- Forexct
- Fxreino
- Supertrader markets
- Top1 markets
- Goldland capital group (GCG)
- Cgtrade
- Direct FX
- GHC trade
- HV markets
- Halifax forex
- Berndale capital
Now have a look at the best brokers of australia.
- IG
- Plus500
- CMC markets
- Saxo bank
- City index
- FXCM
- Etoro
- Pepperstone
Canada brokers
Canadian forex brokers have different regulatory organizations. However, the investment industry regulatory organization of canada (IIROC) is a regulatory organization. It is the national registration department consisting of many regulatory bodies.
There are not as such strict rules for trading. Even there is not any problem while trading with overseas brokers. Moreover, the canadian investor protection fund (CIPF) provided by the canadian government also attracts the investors for forex trading. Here is a list of the authentic and best brokers of canada.
- Avatrade
- Forex.Com
- Vantage FX
- Oanda
- CMC markets
- Interactive brokers
- FXCM
- Easymarkets
- Octafx
- HYCM
US brokers
US FX market is known as one of the largest financial markets in the world. Commodity futures trading commission (CFTC) and national futures association (NFA) regulates the FX brokers of the USA. They have very strict rules. That is why, many brokers and investors avoid working with them.
There are some of the well known transparent and reputable brokers of the US.
- CMC markets
- Dukascopy
- TD ameritrade FX
- City index
- XTB
- FXCM
- ATC brokers
- Onada
- IG
- Fxchoice
- Paxforex
- AAFX trading
Our forex brokers list
These were the registered brokers of the top- tiers brokers of the world. You can search for each broker or can work with any of them. However, if you want to know more about the finest brokers, visit our webiste, www.Forex-scams.Com
Our website provides essential educational material for forex traders.
In case of any query, you can contact us directly. We will respond to you.
So, let's see, what we have: our list of NOT trusted forex brokers. Watch out for these forex brokers, that show many signs of scam. Contact us with your own experience of scamming forex brokers. At forex broker scams list
Contents of the article
- Huge forex bonuses
- Forex brokers to avoid
- Table of contents
- Investigated brokers
- Latest added forex brokers to avoid
- Most trusted forex brokers
- Forex scams
- Top 7 forex scams to avoid today
- Forex trading strategies – scam 1: the...
- Forex trading strategies – scam 2:...
- Forex strategies – scam 3: commingling...
- Forex strategies – scam 4:...
- Forex strategies – scam 5: fake...
- Forex strategies – scam 6: signal seller...
- Forex on instagram – scam 7: fake accounts
- How to avoid the forex scams:
- How to report the forex...
- How to protect yourself more:
- Related articles:
- Forex trading scams
- How forex (FX) trading and brokerage scams work
- Beware of clone firms
- How to protect yourself
- If you have been scammed
- 10 forex scams & unregulated brokers to avoid
- 1. Fake / unregulated brokers
- 2. Clone broker firms
- 3. Clone regulator websites
- 4. Signal sellers
- 5. Trading robot sellers
- 6. Forex ponzi schemes or high yield investment...
- 7. Fraudulent fund managers
- 8. Overpriced training & education programs
- 9. Manipulation of bid / ask spreads
- 10. Stop loss hunting
- Forex broker scam list
- True forex facts versus fiction
- The role of communication between traders and...
- Broker research can protect you
- Brokers and their commissions
- More about churning
- How watchdogs assess churning
- What to do with a bad broker
- Conclusion
- How to avoid forex trading scams in 2021
- Most trusted forex brokers comparison
- Questions to ask to avoid a forex trading scam
- 1) is the broker regulated?
- 2) if regulated, how trustworthy is the...
- How do I know what regulatory bodies are...
- 3) is the broker offering profits or rewards for...
- 4) is the broker offering a cash bonus for...
- 5) is the broker offering automatic trades or...
- Is your forex broker a scam?
- Separating forex fact from fiction
- Communication is key
- Broker research protects you
- The temptation to churn
- SEC defines churning
- Evaluate your trades
- How regulators evaluate churning
- Already stuck with a bad broker?
- The bottom line
- The biggest forex scams in history
- Forex scams from the most trustworthy personas
- How to avoid forex scams
- Forex broker scams list
- Top-tier forex brokers list
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