Beware! EliteCryptoTrade 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.
In today’s review we are going to look at EliteCryptoTrade broker company and evaluate its legitimacy. According to the company’s website, this brokerage trades in forex, CFD stock and indices using bitcoin. To open an account, first of all you have to have a personal bitcoin address and have your own wallet, so you can make your deposits using bitcoin. Then you need to register with this company and make your deposit.
EliteCryptoTrade Regulation and safety of funds
On the website of the company we can see its address in Richmond, VIC, Australia. However, after checking the register (see the screenshot below), we found out that in fact this company is not registered which makes it highly suspicious and most probably a scam. Furthermore, in Terms and Conditions of the same company, we came across a statement asking not to write negative reviews about it without contacting the administrator of the program first. We wonder if a forex company is legit, would they put such a statement in such an important document as Terms and Conditions!
We would like to draw your attention to the fact that out there, there are hundreds of legitimately registered forex companies operating from well-established jurisdictions, such as EU, UK and US. It is worth your time and effort to read carefully the informations and do a proper research before selecting a forex trade brokerage as it can save you from some future troubles and risks with your hard earned money.
EliteCryptoTrade Trading software
From the screenshot below you can see the interface of the trading platform. As you can see, it shows the availability of funds, profit, balance and other features, including live crypto prices and how they fluctuate.
If you click on the the crypto trading view, you will see the position in a given timeframe, as seen from the screenshot below. However, this crypto trading view is for information only – you can choose the currency type and the crypto currency exchange (as shown on the screenshot below) but the act of trading is not executed by the trader but rather than the broker. We need to warn you that trade executed by the broker holds a lot of risks as practically you don’t have a say in what is happening.
EliteCryptoTrade Deposit/Withdrawal methods and fees
According to the company’s website, the minimum initial deposit is $500 and deposits can be made in Bitcoin, Ethereum and Skrill.
However, as we opened the new investment feature, we found out that in fact the company offers 4 types of accounts and the amount shown on the started account is $250, not $500 as stated elsewhere. We find such discrepancies alarming and lowering the company’s credibility. No self-respecting forex company would publish ambiguous information on its website.
For withdrawals, traders can use the same methods as for making deposits. The minimum withdrawal amount is $50 and there is a charge fee of $25 plus $2.25 – 2.75 depending on the crypto currency. Imagine being charged half of the withdrawn amount! Isn’t that something!
What we found very interesting on this company site was the affiliate ranking system. Basically, if you sign up as a member (even if you don’t have an active deposit), you can obtain a personal affiliate link from your personal account which you can share with your friends so they can deposit money in it. And, you get rewarded for it!
You don’t need an active deposit to take advantage of our affiliate offer. As long as you’ve signed up as a member, you have only to obtain your personal affiliate link from your personal account and share it with your friends. You get rewarded as soon as they join and make their first deposit. So, as you can see from the screenshot below, your bonus increases with the number of referrals you make. That’s right, get your friends to work for you and get rich on their account. Does that seem like a financial pyramid to you? It certainly is fishy!
How does scam work?
Actually, it is not that difficult to get scammed as scammers are experienced in the art of deceit and manipulation. Sometime you will see an ad on the Internet or the social media promising a quick and easy profit. It looks so tempting and the risk seems minimal. So, you ask yourself, why not invest $100-200 and get a quick profit. And so you do it without suspecting that your money just went as a commission to some unscrupulous scammer. What happens after that is, you get inundated with telephone calls congratulating you on your move and promising you even bigger profit if you invest more money. After all, the more you invest, the more you gain. Right? But what happens is, you wait and wait for that big profit, but it never arrives. The scammers ask you to be more patient and to wait. After awhile, you start to question your actions and you realise that things are not what they seem. So, you call your ‘brokers’ and you tell them that you want out of this venture. All you want is get your money back and forget the whole unpleasant business. But, hold on! Things are not so simple anymore. The smooth talking scammers will try to persuade you to wait a bit longer and have more patience, telling you that it is only a matter of days before the big profit. If this strategy proves futile, then they start stalling for time, saying that you have to provide this document and that document. Why they do that? So you may miss the deadline for filing for chargeback.
What to do if scammed?
It may be very difficult or even impossible to get your money back! The good news is that now Visa and MasterCard allow for 540 days in which you can file for chargeback. So there is still hope for you and your money getting reunited!
However, if you have used bitcoin or wire transfer to make your payment, you may have to kiss your money goodbye.
Another issue that you need to be aware of, are the so-called recovery agents who will try to approach you promising you to get your money back. Do not trust them as this is just another form of scam.
