Beware! CryptoBitup 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.
CryptoBitup is an Estonian broker that has the potential to confuse some for reasons that we will discuss. The leverage here is capped at 1:400, while the EUR/USD spread is 3 pips, which should give you an idea of what our verdict for this broker will be.
CRYPTOBITUP REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
CryptoBitup has two conflicting pieces of information that is has laid out on its website. The first, and the more convincing one, is its alleged operating license from Estonia. The document claims that the WI GROUP OU is the holder of this license.
Readers should be aware that in Estonia the Finantsinspektsioonacts (FI) acts as a regulatory entity for all financial services institutions, with all regulated companies being officially included in an online register. There were no results of CryptoBitup in the registry, so we can conclude that the broker is not regulated in Estonia.
The second piece of misleading information is located in the Terms and Conditions, where it is said that World Invest Group LP – a different variation on the above stated holding company- is registered in the UK and as such abides by the governing laws of the country.
In the UK, the FCA has the exclusive authority to decide whether a broker has the capacity for a license or not. The official FCA website holds no information for CryptoBitup, nor World Invest Group LP.
From what was said we can deduce that this broker is absolutely UNREGULATED, and a total risk to all traders that invest with it.
Traders should be trading with risk-free brokers, that hold licensed from renowned and austere agencies, like the FCA or CySec , which have made a name for themselves as some of the top regulators. Readers should be aware that both agencies have adapted very strict rules of conduct, and their licensing framework guarantees safety and security for all clientele. A good example of this is the segregation of accounts which assures that client money and broker money are kept in separate accounts. Furthermore, FCA/CySEC brokers participate in a financial reimbursement scheme that cover traders losses in case the broker becomes insolvent. The FCA provides up to 85 000 pounds per person, while CySEC guarantees up to 20 000 euros.
CRYPTOBITUP TRADING SOFTWARE
If the information just provided wasn’t enough to guarantee that CryptoBitup is illicit, then the generic trading platform should be the tip of the iceberg. This terminal is easily associated with unlicensed brokers, for it lacks any professional capacity.
As you can see, there is an obvious lack of many of the features that make other platforms, most notably the MT4, the superior choice. However, on the bright side, there are a range of different trading assets that can be bought or sold: Forex Pairs, Commodities, Indices, Stocks, and Crypto. However, with a 3 pips cost of trade for the EUR/USD currency pair, there is no real incentive to push you to trade here.
CRYPTOBITUP DEPOSIT/WITHDRAWAL METHODS AND FEES
According to the client area the depositing methods are via Credit/Debit cards, some numerous crypto deposit ways, Praxis, and VoguePay. The minimum deposit, as per the dashboard, is $25.
The withdrawal area is as follows:
As you can see, not to much effort has been put into the withdrawal of funds. The Withdrawal Legal document claims that users can withdraw via Credit Cards, Wire Transfer, and Bitcoin.
There are no clear mentions of fees for both deposits and withdrawals, yet all unregulated brokers can easily surprise their clients with unexpected commission and charges.
We strongly advise traders to only deposit the minimum deposit, or better yet- not deposit at all! As for the withdrawals, scammers are known to either deny such requests, or impose incoming and unexpected charges.
How does the scam work?
The most common type of scamming is in fact a very simple scheme that involves multiple level of commitment from both the victim and the fraudulent broker. In the following section we will dive into the individual elements that make up this scenario.
Users of the net will be lured or intrigued by the countless ads that float around the internet, mostly on popular websites such as social media hubs. These ads promise fast money, and are accompanied either by images of luxury or made up testimonials. Clicking on them redirects users to a so called robo-scam website such as xxx or xxx, where a simple registration process will require from you a telephone number and email address. We assure traders, that once these details have been shared, they will shortly get a call from the broker or brokers, on whose ad you just “stumbled”; this is when the game begins. The voice on the other end of the line will urge you to deposit in their broker some $250 (approximately), by reassuring you of the possibilities of profit, and the like.
Should you deposit, the initial scammer has just earned a hefty commission from this deposit. Now it’s time for the senior scammer to talk you into depositing more, by claiming that the only way to increase profits is to deposit more and larger sums. These second level frauds are great talkers, charismatic and influential, twisting their lies to sound like the absolute truth.
At some point or another, the trader will inevitably start suspecting something, and will want to withdrawal his/her funds.
At this point, the con artists will delay the withdrawal process by persuading you to wait, or by referring to their legal documents that cover specific withdrawal clauses- excuses vary from broker to broker This delaying process is crucial to them, for trader have a limited time to file for a chargeback with their respective bank. Once the chargeback time frame runs out, traders will have lost their money for ever.
What to do if scammed?
VISA and MasterCard users will be happy to know that have extended their charge back request period to 540 days for when online scams occur. In case a chargeback is unavailable for some reason, the next immediate route is to cancel your credit card ASAP.
Those of you who deposited using VISA and MasterCard wil be glad to know that both companies have extended their chargeback time span to 540 days, especially if the reason for it is an online scam.
If any bank details have been shared, like banking pass or security code, traders should be aware that scammer will most certainly attempt to drain your account. In such a case, immediately block the account or change the password.
We also urge users to be very careful with the so called “recovery agents” that promise to recover lost money from unlicensed broker. They charge a fee for their alleged services, and will unquestionably not recover any previous deposit, basically scamming you a second time.
Georgi
Criptobitup is scum. It seems, there is not EU police for such crimes yet.