Beware! 247SmartFX is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.
RECOMMENDED FOREX BROKERS
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Open trading accounts with at least two brokers.
247SmartFX presents itself as a German forex and CFD broker, offering four account types with leverage as high as 200:1 and the MetaTrader4 platform.
The selection of trading instruments is more than comprehensive – almost 70 currency pairs, lots of which exotic or minor like USDPHP, USDCNH, USDZAR, USDTRY, USDSGD, USDSEK, USDRUB, USDPLN, USDNOK, USDMXN, USDHUF, USDHKD, USDDKK and USDCZK, as well as CFDs on corn, coffee, cotton, soybean, sugar, wheat, copper, oil, natural gas, silver, gold, platinum, palladium, 17 indices, stocks and even crypto coins like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, Ripple, Zcash, Dash, IOTA, Stellar, Basic Attention Token, EOS, Ethereum Classic, NEO, OmiseGO and Alcoin.
The MetaTrader4 platform, however, is provided by a third party – West Media Group and as we were not able to open a demo account, mirroring their standard account, we can not comment on their spreads.
That however is not our main issue with 247SmartFX, but the fact that they falsely claim to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, while in fact have been fagged as potential scammers by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
247SmartFX regulation & safety of funds
247SmartFX says to be owned and operated by Game Capital Ads Limited, a company supposedly based in Germany, and to be licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK. And they even provide us with a license number – 723385. When we checked the FCA registers however, it turned out that the license number belongs to a completely different company – SMARTFIX U.K. LIMITED, which has absolutely nothing to do with our broker.
That simply means 247SmartFX are deliberately trying to mislead investors that they are a legit and licensed broker, by using corporate details of another business. This scam techniques is known as “clone” scam and is pretty often used by fraudsters in Europe and other markets as well.
On top of that as it turned out 247SmartFX is blacklisted as a potential scam broker by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) – see for your self:
247SmartFX deposit/withdrawal methods and fees
247SmartFX accepts payments with VISA, MasterCard, Vogue Pay and bitcoins, but they do not work with some popular e-wallets like Neteller and Skrill. This by the way is notable, having in mind the new anti- scam policy adopted by Skrill, according which the money transfer company partners only with properly licensed brokers. As we already noted 247SmartFX is not a licensed broker.
Also, be aware of the trading bonuses 247SmartFX might offer you as they come with strings attached. For example you will not be allowed to withdraw unless you reach a trading volume of at least 3,3 million USD for every 100 USD you have accepted as a bonus.
On top of that 247SmartFX reserves the right to change the bonus terms, on their sole discretion, without prior notice, and that obviously gives them the legal right to expand their minimum trade volume requirement indefinitely. Bear in mind that trading bonuses are a favorite scam technique used by virtually all fraudsters, so it is not a surprise that trading bonuses are prohibited in the European Union and on many other regulated markets as well.
Otherwise the minimum deposit requirement is 250 USD, which is more or less what most other brokers would ask you with their standard accounts.
How does the scam work?
Scammers use various channels to get to new victims and one of those are the so called robo scam websites like Bitcoin Profit and Brexit Trader, which are especially designed as investor traps. Those are basically anonymous websites centered around a video ad, from which you will learn how easily you can get rich in just a week, by depositing about 250 USD with some revolutionary trading app, that will generate cash as you sit back and watch.
And if you get hooked and fill the simple registration form, leaving your e-mail and phone, in a second you will be transferred to the web site of a unregulated, offshore scam broker, and will be asked to make your initial deposit.
Now, trading with the scam broker might seem like a lot of fun at first. It will look like you are making a lot of money, and that virtually every trade is profitable. That however will not be real. Your account will simply be manipulated with the idea that you will invest a larger sum. And that is exactly what your “senior account manager” will suggest on the phone – that if you really want to make some real money, you will definitely have to invest more – like 10 000 USD for a start.
And most people do invest as much as they can, without ever realizing they have been scammed until the moment they decide to withdraw some of their funds. Than suddenly it turns out that all of their withdraw requests are canceled, because they have not met some minimum trade volume requirement, probably linked to their welcoming bonus. The excuse might certainly be different, but the result will invariably be the same – scammers will not pay a single penny back.
What to do if scammed?
Your best chance to recover your deposit is to file for a charge back with your credit card company. So do not waste a second, and do it. The good news here is that both VISA and MasterCard will allow a charge back within 540 days.
And in case scammers know your banking details like your credit card number and online banking password, immediately change the password and cancel your credit card.
Finally, do not trust the so called recovery agencies as they will not recover you a single penny. The only thing that will happen, if you accept their offer, is that you will pay some fees in advance and basically that will be the end of the story.
