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how to spot scam brokers?

  • #1
  • First Post: Jan 12, 2010 5:39am Jan 12, 2010 5:39am
I have read stores HERE about people who got stolen.
I went to Forexpeacearmy for reviews ,even the big companies like IBFX and FXCM have very bad reviews (2 stars each)
http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/public...w/www.fxcm.com

Even when I see 5 stars review on a broker ,I see people posted that they got stolen.

So where shall I go for a MT4 mini account?
  • #2
  • Jan 12, 2010 6:05am Jan 12, 2010 6:05am
In my opinion a large number of the reports of money being stolen by brokers is a result of poor trading and not scam brokers. I have dealt with 4 brokers in the last 3 years with no issues. No stop hunting, no trades being closed by the broker, no bad fills, no ghost trades, no problems withdrawing money, nothing.

So, does that make me lucky? Not really. I just stayed away from obvious problems. I am constantly amazed by the sheer number of new companies opening up that are nothing more than a way to suck your money away from you. A quick scan of their web site will usually throw up a few red flags. Stupid web site names raise the first flag. 4X-Make-U-Rich.com or 4X-Really-Eazy.com etc. Spelling mistakes, poor layout, flashy graphics, etc.

I have also stayed away from companies who offer just mt4. Not that I won't deal with a company offering mt4, I just stay away from ones who only offer mt4. Designing a custom trading platform is a serious investment and shows a strong commitment to being around for more than a few weeks. Also, how well that platform runs even in demo is important to me. Does it disconnect often, is it easy to use, etc.

The four companies that I have or currently deal with are:

1. FXSolutions.
2. FXCM micro.
3. Dukascopy.
4. Saxo Bank.

Not in any particular order.
  • #3
  • Jan 12, 2010 6:19am Jan 12, 2010 6:19am
What do u think about Nordfx ?
  • #4
  • Jan 12, 2010 6:32am Jan 12, 2010 6:32am
Quoting Brb-Fraudin
What do u think about Nordfx ?
So, they have their headquarters in the netherlands but their business license is with the Republic of Mauritius. They have offices in China and Russia and no toll free customer support for U.S. residence.

Their website has only been registered since 2008. All of the administrative contacts for their web site are based out of Mauritius and the address looks like one of those Mail Boxes etc. addresses. Also they do not list a persons name as an administrative contact.

Administrative Contact [1936225]:
Domain Manager [email protected]
Nord Group Investments Inc.
La Rue Chaussee, Office 113, Medine Mews
Port Louis
MU
  • #5
  • Jan 12, 2010 8:43am Jan 12, 2010 8:43am
Thank you bro. I think I will open an account either on Fxsol.co.uk (they use MT4) ,there are no reports of stealing on FPA. Also MBtrading looks good too.

Thanks 4 ur help.
  • #6
  • Jan 12, 2010 9:17am Jan 12, 2010 9:17am
Quoting magnumfreak
In my opinion a large number of the reports of money being stolen by brokers is a result of poor trading and not scam brokers.
You are completely wrong on this. There are more scam brokers than you imagine. Of course it's not the well known and reputable ones that you mention in your post above but more likely to be the smaller and unregulated brokers that you should beware. Ignore this and warnings from other traders at FPA at your own cost.
  • #7
  • Jan 12, 2010 1:32pm Jan 12, 2010 1:32pm
Quoting PipStar
You are completely wrong on this. There are more scam brokers than you imagine. Of course it's not the well known and reputable ones that you mention in your post above but more likely to be the smaller and unregulated brokers that you should beware. Ignore this and warnings from other traders at FPA at your own cost.
I think both statements are true here, but a point to be made is that the MT4 landscape is completely different now than 3 years ago. Back then, your only option if you wanted MT4 was this bucketshop or that bucketshop.

With the advent of several ECN brokers now offering MT4, you can just go there and not worry about all the bucketshop tricks. Or, if you're at a bucketshop and become unhappy, you can just leave. I'm sure the buckets know this, and are probably losing lots of customers to the ECN's now.

The good news for us is that this probably makes them much less likely to screw anyone, as now it's much easier to just leave and go to an ECN, whereas that wasn't an option 2-3 years ago...
  • #8
  • Jan 12, 2010 2:32pm Jan 12, 2010 2:32pm
Quoting PipStar
You are completely wrong on this. There are more scam brokers than you imagine. Of course it's not the well known and reputable ones that you mention in your post above but more likely to be the smaller and unregulated brokers that you should beware. Ignore this and warnings from other traders at FPA at your own cost.
Relying on opinions of people you do not know is another way to get scammed. You have no clue who those people are or what if any is their actual affiliation with the different companies.

Proper research on your own is your best way to reduce your risk of being involved in a scam. Most people get caught up in greed and because of that get what they deserve.

Do you REALLY think that an advertiser on FPA is going to tolerate a negative review AND pay for advertising space?
  • #9
  • Jan 12, 2010 4:23pm Jan 12, 2010 4:23pm
Quoting magnumfreak
In my opinion a large number of the reports of money being stolen by brokers is a result of poor trading and not scam brokers. I have dealt with 4 brokers in the last 3 years with no issues. No stop hunting, no trades being closed by the broker, no bad fills, no ghost trades, no problems withdrawing money, nothing.

So, does that make me lucky? Not really. I just stayed away from obvious problems. I am constantly amazed by the sheer number of new companies opening up that are nothing more than a way to suck your money away from you. A quick scan...
not true cause.. i just had ibfx execute a partial close on a trade during a random down spike while swap was being calculated and ibfx only allows clients to execute partial trades with software they offer on there website which i dont have.
  • #10
  • Jan 12, 2010 4:49pm Jan 12, 2010 4:49pm
Quoting Brb-Fraudin
I have read stores HERE about people who got stolen.
I went to Forexpeacearmy for reviews ,even the big companies like IBFX and FXCM have very bad reviews (2 stars each)
http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/public...w/www.fxcm.com

Even when I see 5 stars review on a broker ,I see people posted that they got stolen.

So where shall I go for a MT4 mini account?
Brokers don't need to be scammers to make money - foolish traders take care of that for them.

If the bad traders spent as much time developing a proper trading methodology as they did complaining about brokers or searching for the 'right' broker, they would become better traders much more quickly.

Most good retail traders should be able to use almost any platform with any broker, and see very little difference in their results - it's that simple.
  • #11
  • Jan 12, 2010 5:06pm Jan 12, 2010 5:06pm
When selecting a broker due your own due diligence. Ideally, you want to choose a broker in your own country. In my humble opinion, most brokers that offer MT4 as their only platform need extra scrutiny. I also believe there are honest MT4 brokers (they often offer their own platform too).

Believe me, brokers are in business to make money; not help you make money. They know you'll refund your account (at least twice, probably closer to 5 times).

Metaquotes also offers broker addons to help brokers increase their bottom line. Think about it?

Mt4 is great for charting, but even then you'll get bad feeds, brokers that manipulate their feeds, etc...

I said this before and I'll say it again. All brokers are bucket shops (full of shit), some just have more shit in their bucket.

Buyer beware.
  • #12
  • Jan 12, 2010 5:37pm Jan 12, 2010 5:37pm
Quoting Brb-Fraudin
I have read stores HERE about people who got stolen.
I went to Forexpeacearmy for reviews ,even the big companies like IBFX and FXCM have very bad reviews (2 stars each)
http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/public...w/www.fxcm.com

Even when I see 5 stars review on a broker ,I see people posted that they got stolen.

So where shall I go for a MT4 mini account?
All reviews on FPA are faked btw. I wrote an honest and detailed review on IBFX it never got published instead a new negative review was added after a week. The owner of the site is some fishy russian guy with his own forex service so he won't allow positive reviews on his rivals. I heard he is in jail right now.

As for the "are all brokers scammers". I'd say no.
I can only agree with everything magnumfreak has said.
  • #13
  • Jan 12, 2010 10:22pm Jan 12, 2010 10:22pm
Quoting Tjpld
All reviews on FPA are faked btw. I wrote an honest and detailed review on IBFX it never got published instead a new negative review was added after a week. The owner of the site is some fishy russian guy with his own forex service so he won't allow positive reviews on his rivals. I heard he is in jail right now.

As for the "are all brokers scammers". I'd say no.
I can only agree with everything magnumfreak has said.
Not correct that all the reviews at FPA are fake. I have several there myself; good, bad, and in between. And it's also incorrect the advertisers won't "tolerate" bad reviews. Check it out for yourself. Look at any of the advertisers of the site, then read the reviews for them; there are plenty of negatives.

It's amazing to me how wrong a lot of these comments are. If someone doesn't like FPA for some reason, fine, but at least get the facts straight.

I for one think they're great, and it's amazing how much they provide completely free. The product and broker reviews, EA demo tests, free help if you get scammed, etc. are absolutely priceless in my opinion. Of course you need to use a BS filter, and also a "wacko" filter, but so what? Just astonishing to me that more people don't appreciate what they provide.

To each his own, but I'm sure glad they are around...
  • #14
  • Jan 12, 2010 10:41pm Jan 12, 2010 10:41pm
I Personally Posted Reviews in FPA website
Some of them Published and Some Are Not.. Crap!
Charting Markets into the Future...MǎҖ€¥.
  • #15
  • Jan 13, 2010 12:49am Jan 13, 2010 12:49am
Quoting TC East
Not correct that all the reviews at FPA are fake. I have several there myself; good, bad, and in between. And it's also incorrect the advertisers won't "tolerate" bad reviews. Check it out for yourself. Look at any of the advertisers of the site, then read the reviews for them; there are plenty of negatives.

It's amazing to me how wrong a lot of these comments are. If someone doesn't like FPA for some reason, fine, but at least get the facts straight.

I for one think they're great, and it's amazing how much they provide completely free. The...
I could not agree more with you. I have myself made reviews at FPA which are real experiences with several brokers and I also know some other traders who have posted reviews there. I have also received help from FPA regarding some issues where a certain broker has shown unethical behaviour. It all ended up with a better result for me than if I did not get FPA help. Of course, FPA is not perfect but they are fantastic for what they can do for you for free. For the record, the same people keep bashing FPA at Forex Factory all the time. It is just as irresponsible as those who sometimes leave false reviews on FPA forums whether they are broker competitors or others acting stupidly.
  • #16
  • Jan 13, 2010 2:17am Jan 13, 2010 2:17am
Quoting Brb-Fraudin
I have read stores HERE about people who got stolen.
I went to Forexpeacearmy for reviews ,even the big companies like IBFX and FXCM have very bad reviews (2 stars each)
http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/public...w/www.fxcm.com

Even when I see 5 stars review on a broker ,I see people posted that they got stolen.

So where shall I go for a MT4 mini account?
Yes all brokers are scammers... Demo is totally different than real... You will find everything perfect in demo , even you will find yourself as a successful trader but on real everything is opposite... I think these reviews are real... & remember brokers will never admit fault from their side they will put everything on you with different reasons means you will be faulty not they will. Thats why its hard to make money in forex
  • #17
  • Jan 27, 2010 7:36am Jan 27, 2010 7:36am
The guy in charge of the FPA's Review Mods decided to answer what happened to some of the reviews. http://www.forexpeacearmy.com/forex-...questions.html Scroll down to "Hey dude, where's my review?". There are instructions about what info to give if you write in about a missing one.
  • #18
  • Jan 27, 2010 9:11am Jan 27, 2010 9:11am
Quoting TJPLD
All reviews on FPA are faked btw. I wrote an honest and detailed review on IBFX it never got published instead a new negative review was added after a week. The owner of the site is some fishy russian guy with his own forex service so he won't allow positive reviews on his rivals. I heard he is in jail right now.

As for the "are all brokers scammers". I'd say no.
I can only agree with everything magnumfreak has said.
I have to agree with TJPLD,
I've heard the FPA website was a scam in itself so I wouldn't put much trust and confidence in that site's reviews.

... and I don't believe all brokers are scams. It's the small brokers that offer MT4 that I wouldn't trust. To be honest, i don't trust any MT4 broker ... my personal opinion.
  • #19
  • Jan 27, 2010 9:23am Jan 27, 2010 9:23am
Quoting Jhig
I have to agree with TJPLD,
I've heard the FPA website was a scam in itself so I wouldn't put much trust and confidence in that site's reviews.

... and I don't believe all brokers are scams. It's the small brokers that offer MT4 that I wouldn't trust. To be honest, i don't trust any MT4 broker ... my personal opinion.
A variety of opinions on this topic, but I have to disagree

If FPA is in itself a scam, who are they scamming? They don't ask for any money, and provide all kinds of services. If you just used their economic calendar (far better then FF's) and never read one review, wouldn't that be of some potential benefit to you (speaking generally)?

But as for the reviews, again who are they scamming? Take FXCM reviews for example (one of their advertisers). If they were scamming, you'd think every review would be singing FXCM's praises. But is that the case? Hardly. FXCM gets absolutely skewered in the reviews there.

But in all the products reviewed, there are both very good reviews and very bad. So again, that being the case, who exactly is getting scammed?

I understand the skepticism surrounding almost any forex service these days, but I've benefited from these guys for years. And I have nothing to gain or lose by saying so, but do think it's worth sharing an opinion given I use their site almost every day...

Anyway, my 2 cents again for what it's worth...no offense intended to any that disagree though.
  • #20
  • Jun 14, 2010 10:32am Jun 14, 2010 10:32am
I wonder what is the advantage of Big Broker vs. Small Broker? for instance: FXCM vs IamFX?
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