Beware! Exilon Markets 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.
Exilon Market is an offshore Forex brokerage registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It provides the MT4 trading platform and a generous leverage of up to 1:500. The required minimum deposit is quite excessive at $2500 which is ten times the industry average.
Exilon Market regulation & safety of funds
On the brokers website we read that the broker brand has a registered address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines which is a well-known offshore zone and a preferred location for shady brokerage. However, we find no mention of the company’s name.
We read it is “regulated” by the local Financial Services Authority, however, this is quite misleading. We remind readers that the government of SVG has multiple times publicly stated that it does not oversee Forex trading and thus we may safely conclude that not only is the brokerage not regulated. Furthermore, trading with an offshore, unregulated brokerage hides a lot of risk. There may be commingling which means that the brokerage may commingle together the finances of the firm and the finances of the clients. Furthermore, not even mentioning the name of the company is cause for concern since this means that the website is basically anonymous and the people behind it answer to no viable authority.
On top of all this, while researching the broker on the web we came upon an official warning issued by the Spanish authorities regarding the brokerage. It reads that CNMV suspects Exilon of being involved in scam operations and further in providing financial services without proper authorization. Overall, the lack of regulation inclines us to suspect that potential clients of the brokerage may be open to substantial risk.
Traders needn’t have to worry themselves with such risk if they choose to trade with a brokerage regulated and authorized by a prestigious regulatory agency. Such agencies are the FCA in the UK or CySec in Cyprus which have been leading names in Forex trading for some time now. Their regulatory framework is composed of a number of strict rules which prevent clients from falling victims to fraud. Such rules include the segregation of accounts which assures that commingling with the client’s money is not possible. Furthermore, a license by such a regulatory body entails participation in a financial mechanism by which clients may be compensated if they suffer losses due to fraud or bankruptcy. With the FCA the compensation is up to 85 000 pounds, where as with CySEC it is up to 20 000 euro per person.
Exilon Market trading software
However, putting all this aside – the brokerage does provide the MetaTrader 4 trading platform which we always view favorably e since it is the foremost trading terminal at the moment equipped with features such as almost a 100 market indicators, as well as customizable trading robots. It is also the preferred choice for more than 80 percent of the traders in Forex. Here is a screenshot:
However, there are a couple of problems worth pointing out. First of, the platform is actually provided by a third party – PHP trading – which isn’t uncommon in Forex trading but it isn’t something we condone either. Furthermore, the spread is supposedly only 0.2 pips which is quite low, as a matter of fact too good to be true. We are inclined to suspect that this isn’t the actual spread since no brokerage could hope to yield a profit with so low a spread. All this outlined further leads us to conclude that Exilon Markets means trouble and traders should steer clear of the broker.
Exilon Market deposit/withdrawal methods and fees
Going through the website we are unable to discern what the available payment methods for clients are. Usually in Forex trading clients may deposit or withdraw via Visa, MasterCard and e-wallets such as Skrill or Neteller.
Going through the terms and conditions of the brokerage we did find any provisions worth noting. There is a minimum withdrawal amount of $100 and furthermore, clients will be charged with unspecified withdrawal fees. This is quite nerve-wracking since it leaves a loophole for the broker to charge as much as it wishes.
Many scammers choose not to disclose such information to would-be clients. Without proper information on the website we cannot be certain whether clients won’t be charged with any unexpected withdrawal or deposit fees once they invest. This is why we advise traders to always put up only the required minimum deposit, instead of risking a bigger amount with no certainty. Afterwards, they may also try to withdraw a small amount in order to check for any unexpected fees or delays. Such fees and delays are usually the signs of a scammer.
How does the scam work?
Even though the forex trading world is extremely large and encompasses millions of people around the globe, the most common scamming is pretty simple and straightforward and as such – it’s not particularly daring to avoid. Here is a quick overview of how it is done:
Through clicking an ad with promises for fast money, you will be redirected to a website such as DaxRobot or CryptoContracts where registration will require you to give your address, email and phone number. After sharing your personal information, you will being receiving calls from brokers, compelling you to invest with them and win big. After a few minutes hearing their pitches, you decide to deposit some $200-250. And just like that – the scammers take a fat commission from this initial deposit.
After they are done with you, senior scammers begin working you into putting even more money. They say it’s the only way to profit from trading even more. After making the mistake of investing even further, you’ll begin wanting to get out of this and withdraw what you have left.
Unfortunately, the con-artists have no such thing in mind. They will now begin persuading you to wait it out and not withdraw right now. The angle here is pretty blunt – traders have a limited time period for filing a chargeback with their bank and get their money back. The “recovery department” will simply want to mislead you into missing thе crucial period and, along the way, losing any chance you might have of getting the money back.
It is important here to take notice that both Visa and MasterCard are taking measures to combat unregulated forex brokerages by classifying all forex transactions as high risk. And with the case Traderia – they are correct in doing so. Furthermore, supporting their intention with clear actions – MasterCard has increased the previous time period of six months for filing a chargeback to a year and a half.
What to do when scammed?
As was mentioned above, scamming is quite the common in the trading world and, sadly, even you might suffer from it. In such an unfortunate case there still may be some available options for you.
You may contact your bank or credit card provider and file a chargeback.
If, however, you have provided the broker with your credit card details, immediately cancel your credit card.
If you have given information regarding your online banking pass – you should switch it asap!
Beware of potential calls from self-described “recovery agencies”! They prey on scammed and vulnerable traders who are desperate to recover their losses. They will require an “up-front” payment to help you, but after paying them, no such help will be coming your way!
