Beware! BTS 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.
BTS Markets can seem legit, and with good reason. The broker seems to offer some outstanding trading conditions, and a proper website that functions well. However, there are certain nuisances that alter our experience. Read the review to find out more.
BTS MARKETS REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
The biggest issue we have with BTS Markets is its seemingly unregulated nature. Nowhere on the website does the company reveal that it is regulated by any entity. The only clue we have to work with is a piece of information found in the Terms and Conditions stating that the website is governed by New Zealand laws. In New Zealand, the Financial Market Authority (FMA), regulates the forex marker. The FMA enforces some rules that all brokers under its supervision must comply with in order to offer lawful forex trading services, like an initial minimum operational capital of NZ$1 million. However, as we mentioned previously, the broker does not claim to be regulated in New Zealand, nor anywhere else. Thus we have to conclude that BTS Markets is UNREGULATED, and as we know, unlicensed brokers are a risk to traders.
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.
BTS MARKETS TRADING SOFTWARE
The website offers the MT5 trading software, yet we were unable to register, so any actual trading conditions we cannot disclose. However, we were unable to register because the broker sends a verification code to all wanna-be users. This can mean two things. either the broker verifies its clients before offering decent conditions for forex trading, or it requires phone numbers in order to directly contact potential depositors and try to convince them to deposit, initiating the scammer scheme we have explained further down in this review. Nevertheless, BTS Markets offers Commodities, and Stocks as its only assets, leaving out currency pairs which is unacceptable. The website does not reveal any other trading terms.
Nevertheless, the MT5 still retains some great features even if it is still shadowed by the immensely popular MT4. MT5 is certified by many stock exchanges and allows for a centralized market trade. Improvements have been made with the chart time frames, there are better charting tools to further otpimize the trading experience, and there are more pending order types.
BTS MARKETS DEPOSIT/WITHDRAWAL METHODS AND FESS
Unfortunately, the information is very limited when deposits and withdrawals are concerned; the sole hint is the home page claiming that the minimm deposit is $100.
Because we did not register we are left empty handed. Yet, users should be aware that unregulated brokers are bound to push traders to deposits, hand out fees without notice, and delay withdrawals. These are staples of illicit brokerage firms.
We strongly advice 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?
Users will be in the middle of a scam without even knowing it, that’s how efficient these scams are. Yet, clients will also be surprised that the most utilized scammer structure is laughably easy to grasp, making it predictable. We have dedicated the following section to the reveal of how the scam works.
The internet is filled with ads, it’s the fuel of the industry, and a big chunk of said advertisements are misleading and some are downright deceitful. The ads concerned with unregulated forex brokers are often very promising, and most of the times utilize completely false claims of immediate profit. Those tempted enough will be redirected to a robo-scam website that further guarantees profits. The only thing that separates the user from the unrealistic promises is a fast registration process that requires a phone number and an email address. After inputting this info unsuspecting users will start getting phone calls from illicit broker representatives, whose one and only job is to initialize the scheme by pushing a trader to make that first deposit of around $250. After that’s done, the senior representatives will be calling. These expert scammers are extremely good talkers, and will start working on you to start putting even more money in. They say that the more money invested, the higher the profit will be. At this point most traders start seeing the big picture, and will want to withdrawal their money and get out fast.
However, the scammers have anticipated this development, and are ready to counter any withdrawal request. Typically they find excuses for delaying the request in the legal documents that hold specific clauses for these purposes. The reasons are many. One thing to remember is that all illicit brokerage firms will deny the withdrawal request for as long as they can, because of the imposed time limit traders have for filling a chargeback. Once the crucial due date is not met, any chargeback requests will be denied.
What to do if scammed?
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.
Scammers will steal directly from a bank account, if the traders has provided crucial details, like banking password or security code. If it get down to this, be sure to either block the account or change the password.
Sometime victimized users will stumble upon the so called recovery agents that promises to magically reclaim all lost investments, for a fee that is. Needless to say, they will not get back any of the lost funds, and will basically scam you a second time.
