The UK financial regulator, FCA, is one of the firmest authorities out there. Being Tier 1 license providers, they have stringent demands for Forex and CFD brokers.
Just to name a few, they require trading firms to have a minimum operational capital of 730,000 GBP to ensure liquidity, participation in the compensation scheme with up to 85,000 GBP per customer, and more.
Hence, FCA warnings should be taken seriously. Let’s see what this regulator says and which brokers we should avoid.
With trading becoming increasingly popular, having a comprehensive list of scammers can help keep your money secure. We’ve received a number of warnings, most of them regarding unauthorized brokers and clone firms. Let’s go through them and see how you can keep yourself safe.
Besides this inconsistency, we have a severe lack of trading information. Namely, spread, leverage, and other terms are not disclosed. At the same time, we don’t know the official owner as legal documents are quite vague.
Uni-co is an offshore brand owned by Fortune Investment Group Ltd, registered in the Marshall Islands. This country has a loose non-government financial regulator, GLOFSA, that often slips unlicensed brokers. Hence, we have Uni-co here on the FCA warnings list.
The brokerage offers FX and CFD trading under unlicensed trading terms. Brokers onboarding UK residents must maintain the leverage at 1:30, while Uni-co has a fixed leverage of 1:100. Additionally, the firm has been banned in Canada as well.
The warning against Nexus Trade was first published at the beginning of December. However, with the inflow of new information, FCA updated it on the 22nd. The said brokerage is allegedly based in the US but has no NFA or CFTC license.
Besides trading, the company offers referral commissions, making it a Ponzi scheme. Additionally, they claim to sell crypto mining equipment, which we doubt investors will ever receive.
As you can already conclude from the site domain, this trading scam targets UK residents. The charade owner is Square FX Ltd, incorporated in the UK in March 2022. While the said firm exists, it doesn’t have an FCA license. Therefore, all the services it offers are illegal.
The leverage ranges from 1:200 to 1:500. With the limit we already discussed, it’s clear that we’re talking about another trading fraud.
Despite a nice name, there’s nothing ideal about this trading firm. The brokerage claims to have its HQ in California, US. At the same time, it’s a missing license from the relevant authorities, CFTC and NFA.
Their fake Regulation section mentions UFSA – US Financial Services Authority. Note that this is not a body in charge of Forex and CFD trading.
Further, the company listed MiFID, FCA, BaFin, ACP, CNMV, and Finanstilsynet as its supervisors. As you can guess, none of the mentioned regulators has ever had any records of the IdealFXTrading scam.
Another false UK firm is Forex Profit Solutions Ltd, allegedly based in England. However, without an FCA regulation, all the services on offer are not legitimate. Additionally, FSCS and Financial Ombudsman cannot assist victims of this fake firm.
The company bases its business on ROI, promising higher gains within 12-48 hours. If it sounds like fake promises, it’s because they are.
Another one of the FCA warnings list members is ApexTradeFX24. The company claims to have its HQ in Texas, but once again, we lack CFTC and NFA licenses. Besides lousy website design and unsolicited offers, we haven’t found any proof of legitimacy.
The firm requires Bitcoin deposits and promises deposit insurance. Both are hallmarks of trading fraud to avoid.
While promising a safe and easy way to invest in Bitcoin, BitSecuredFX brings only a headache. The firm owner is unknown, and we have an address from California as HQ. And, as you understood so far, there’s no license in sight.
If you check the website more thoroughly, you will see that instead of crypto trading, this company offers binary options. This type of trading has been banned in the EU and UK since 2018 due to its gambling nature.
Despite its name, Alpha Hedge Expert advertises itself as a crypto investment institution. They listed a number of regulations, including CySEC, FSCA, IFSC, FCA, and FINACOM.
In reality, the CySEC regulation number belongs to Forextime Ltd, whose only domain is forextime.com, while the FCA number was taken from the UK branch of the same firm.
The brokerage requires a minimum investment of $500, with a guaranteed return of 35%. The moment you see a guarantee on the financial market, you can be sure you’re dealing with fraud.
AFX Capital Excel presents itself as a leading international fintech company, allowing investors to trade crypto, FX, and CFDs. The alleged HQ is in the US but without appropriate licensing.
We also see various scam signs, including referral bonuses, lack of basic information, and no details about withdrawals.
Here we come to another unauthorized financial swindler that has decided to abuse the lack of knowledge regarding digital currencies. Namely, Vintage Crypto offers trading with crypto, as well as crypto loans. They promise investors up to 100% return within one week, which is outrageous.
Combined with their false UK headquarters and lack of licensing details, we can say it’s the safest to stay away from Vintage Crypto, and similar brokers added to the FCA warnings list.
GlobalOddFXTrades brand belongs to GlobaloddFxTrades Limited. According to the website, the company resides in the UK, but regulation comes from the IFSC of Canada. However, the official Canadian regulator is IIROC, while IFSC is the license provider in Belize.
The company says to offer services in the EEA zone, the UK, the US, Canada, and other regions, all without valid regulations. One example of their illicit offerings is CFD crypto trading.
This investment type is not allowed in the UK since the FCA has decided it can harm investors due to price volatility.
AnalystQue is a brand of AnalystQue, Inc., located in Dominica. The firm provides crypto trading services and leveraged loans for investors looking to expand their portfolios. As an offshore country, Dominica doesn’t have such stringent financial regulations, which shows with the company in question.
The minimum deposit amount is 500 USDT in BTC equivalent. Hence, the firm encourages investors to deposit via crypto, the only method not subject to a chargeback, recall, or any other form of safety.
North Global FX, or North Global Investment, is a trading firm allegedly founded in Switzerland. As we know, many financial swindlers choose Swiss address as it looks professional and appealing. However, they all lack FINMA licenses. Or better said any license.
Currently, northglobalfx.com is under maintenance, and there’s a message stating that the site will be available soon. Since it’s just not right to leave investors without access to the trading account, we suspect this site will vanish, like many others.
Tradelap Limited presents itself as an FCA-regulated brand, Fortrade. It’s a clone firm, and these are quite deceptive. They will use all the tricks and tools to convince you of their legitimacy when, in fact, your money will go into the hands of scammers.
They take BTC deposits through the company wallet, meaning tracking and tracing your transactions will be quite a hassle if you deposit. Like many scammers out there, they promise ROI ranging from 14% to 52.5% on a weekly basis.
Trades FX Pips uses big words to describe their business. Allegedly, the company is a part of Trades Fx Pips Brokers Group with a seat on the American Stocks Exchange.
Then, they mention several other companies without specifying their relations with the brand.
The company would need CFTC and NFA licenses to provide Forex and CFD trading as a US-based firm. Without it, it’s clear that we’re dealing with another potential offshore fraud without any intentions to allow investors legit trading and actually approve withdrawals.
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