How do you know the EA is real or not?

I have seen an EA that I am very interested in. But it put in 3k real money, had 3k plus of profits, total is 8k plus. My question is, is are they in anyway manipulating the stats site for instance MT4stats etc? Or is it a genuine error?

Is it possible for EA providers to manipulate their stats when they are showing them in public in such mt4stats sites?

There are some smart people here who can "debunk" the fraudulent systems/EAs...

Post a link perhaps?

Obviously, things you would like to consider is drawdown, number of trades, risk/reward... proper risk management, etc.

edit: There is actually more to consider, irregular position sizing, "Taleb distribution"-like systems, etc. We would really have to see it. If for some reason you do not want to post it publicly, send me a private message, I am pretty good at seeing potential problems.

Check with them to see if the EA has a trial period first, that way you can demo the EA's actual performance for yourself. If they use myfxbook.com, it is hard to fake result as they're verified twice, Track Record Verified and Trading Privileges Verified.

If it's for sale, it's bullshit, if it's not for sale, it has a 99% chance of being bullshit. Nobody gives away the golden goose and EA results are easy to fake.

I've tried various EA's and think I've found that works. I started on a micro-account to test it first and it showed promising results. I increased to 3 mini-lots the past few weeks. I've only had it for two months and it's done extremely well.

I wonder how long I should give it to prove itself before I increase lots further. I normally don't get past trading micro lots as every other EA hasn't consistenly worked. Any ideas on how long it takes to know the system works long-term? Should I wait longer or increase my lot size now b/c they've done so well? Thanks.

I normally don't get past trading micro lots as every other EA hasn't consistenly worked.

Craig is spot on here, though he might be a little kind with the 1% possiblility of a non commercial EA being something other than BS. (Best to keep an open mind I suppose!) For what it's worth, a little check list of assumptions below might assist you, just in case you are tempted by the EA lure of fast money for little or no effort...

http://www.forexfactory.com/showpost...70&postcount=3

All the best.