Forex Trading – Is It Legitimate?
Forex (Foreign Exchange) is not a scam and certainly can be a credible and legitimate way of making money. However, whenever there are large sums of money involved, the shadier elements of society are never lagging. There are plenty of nefarious brokers that target novices, experienced traders and everyone else in between.
Forex scams are unfortunately common. At Broker Complaint Registry we have seen many forex, binary options and CFD scams emerge. Here are a couple of things to look out for whether you are an experienced trader or a complete novice.
Regulated Forex Broker?
The very first step to take to avoid becoming a victim of a Forex scam is to make sure you open an account with a regulated broker. There are many dominions that regulate Forex trading including the FCA in the UK, ASIC in Australia, and the CFTC and the NFA in the United States. Do not solely rely what is on the broker’s website. Check them out online and make sure they are regulated. It is simple to place a regulation on a website so use the resources available to you such as https://register.fca.org.uk/. Be sure to call the forex broker and find out who they are and what they do. Do not get pressured into opening an account unless you are 100% at ease.
However, merely checking to see whether the broker is regulated is not enough. There are numerous regulatory agencies such as CySEC that do not apply strict enough oversight and fail to implement harsh penalties for any brokers that violate their rules.
Guaranteed ROI
Any broker that guarantees a return on investment (ROI) is a surefire scam. For example, a “broker” may be approached to invest your money with an organization that will trade on your behalf and promise yearly or monthly returns for as long as you keep investing with them. Many of these con artists promise 40-50 % of your invested capital guaranteed PER MONTH. These “returns” are absolutely unsustainable and almost always involve other investors continuing to add money to the pot. This is called a Ponzi scheme. Remember Bernie Madoff anyone?
Forex trading is risky and while there are plenty of individuals who can consistently earn money trading, no one will say it is a guarantee.
Fund Withdrawal
If the forex broker or account manager tries to prevent you from withdrawing your funds or your return on investment, then you know that it is a forex scam. There is absolutely no reason that it should take anymore than a few business days for your money to be returned. Even some regulated brokers have refused to allow their clientele to withdraw. Take OTCapital as an example. They are regulated by ASIC, but Broker Complaint Registry has dealt with numerous individuals that have been unable to withdraw their funds.
I am the victim of a forex scam; what can I do?
If you were scammed by a forex broker be sure to fill out this form and we will get back to you. Additionally, be sure to share your experience in the comment section below
Let me tell you about OTCapital – dont use them Warning. They are registered in Australia with ASIC and are a true Scam organisation. They give you a Account Manager who takes all your money. They say yes you can withdraw and allow you to withdraw a small amount. Then they build you up as you win and win and win then by the 3rd or 4th week Events in the world are happening and your account is in danger, put more and more money in then within two days it is all gone. They show huge SWAPs which are sometimes more than your investment. Warning they trade as AGM Marketing Pty Ltd. I am not the only one who has lost huge amounts of money. I lost 250K of my own and 150K of so called wins. So dont do it go to reputable organisations. This one is not.