Beware! Bluebird Options 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.
Bluebird Options trades in forex, indices, commodities, CFDs and crypto currencies. The company offers 2 accounts – Standard and Pro which we’ll look at further in this review.
Bluebird Options Regulation and safety of funds
For Bluebird Options FCA has issued a warning that this broker is a clone of a FCA authorised firm. It is obvious that this broker is a scammer trying to pass for someone else and preying on unsuspecting traders. In its footer, the company boldly states that is is authorised and regulated by FCA, however, nothing could be further from the truth.
That is why you need to be extra vigilant when it comes to choosing a reliable broker. First of all, you need to look for a broker from one of the well-established jurisdictions, such as EU, UK or US. In these jurisdictions the stringent rules for registration and regulation of forex brokers serves as safeguard against scammers. For example, to be registered and regulated, forex companies in EU and UK must have an initial capital of 730 000 EUR and must contribute to a compensation funds which will compensate traders in case of a bankruptcy. For example, traders from EU will be compensated with up to 20 000 EUR per person if the company is regulated by CySEC. If the company is regulated by FCA, then the clients will be compensated up to 85,000 GBP per person.
Now you understand why this forex broker is trying to pass as someone else! And also, you understand why you should run away from it!
Bluebird Options Trading software
To its clients, Bluebird Options offers xStation and MetaTrader 4 trading platform.
From the screenshot below, you can get an idea what the platform xStation looks like. On the right hand side, you see the menu with the currency pairs bid/ask price and in the center, you see the chart of one of the currency pairs – EUR/USD with its bid/ask price and fluctuation of price in a given time frame. The spread for EUR/USD is 0.5 pips.
On this platform, there is also an option for social trading, where traders can follow or mirror the trading transactions of more experienced traders. However, if you choose to do so, you should know that it holds a lot of risks – if the trader you follow makes a profit, you can make a profit too, but if he/she loses, it means you’ll lose too. So be careful whom you entrust your money to.
MetaTrader 4 is the other trading platform offered by Bluebird Options and we must say that it is far more superior than xStation. Not by chance is MetaTrader 4 preferred by the majority of forex traders for its many advantages – a code base with customs scripts, auto trading options, VPS, trading signals, a financial calendar and an app market. The number of forex pairs charts that can be displayed simultaneously is practically unlimited!
In the account information we found out that the leverage for both accounts is 1:30. Such leverage happens to be in accordance with the leverage cap imposed on forex brokers in EU to prevent traders taking unnecessarily high risk with their funds when the leverage is high. Commendable as it may be, do not forget that if the forex broker is not legitimate, nothing else matters.
Bluebird Options Deposit/Withdrawal methods and fees
Please note that in the account information, there is no mention about the minimum deposit. To fund their account, clients may choose between a bank transfer, credit card, e-Wallets, PayPal or Skrill.
To withdraw money, clients will have to pay fees if the withdrawal amount is below the threshold. For example, if they want to withdraw less than $100 (which is the threshold), then they will have to pay $20. If the withdrawal amount is above this threshold, then there are no fees.
How does scam work?
Actually, it’s quite simple and users often fall into the trap of experienced scammers. We bet you have seen those attractive ads on the Internet promising big and quick profits over a short period of time. Just provide your personal information, and voila! The scam brokers are waiting for you and you will be inundated with phone calls promising easy profit. Tempting, right? You think ‘ok, I can spend $200-300 and see what profit it brings me’. Congratulations, you just provided a fat commission for your scammers that will be distributed down the food chain. Now you have ‘graduated’ to be handed over to a senior ‘broker’, a smooth talker who will try to convince you that there is no more perfect time like now to invest more money. After all, you want to make more profit, right? However, something starts to feel off and now you start asking yourself questions and all you want is to withdraw your money and get out fast.
Unfortunately, it is too late! Someone has pulled the cheese and you are trapped because scammers don’t give up easily. Scammers will do anything in order to delay you so that you miss the deadline for chargeback.
What to do if scammed?
Our advice is to immediately file for chargeback if you have been lucky enough to make your deposit via credit card. VISA and MasterCard allow for 540 days chargeback period, so you still have a chance to get your money back.
Things don’t look so good if your currency of choice has been Bitcoin or bank wire. In that case, you may have to wave your money goodbye.
There are some other things that you can do in case of being scammed – cancel your credit card if you have given your CVV code to the scammers. Also, erase any software from your computer that gives scammers access to your private data.
Be warned, as well, that some so-called ‘recovery agents’ may approach you promising to recover your funds for a fee. It could be another form of scam where scammers prey on your misfortune. Should you choose to use one, you must make sure that you are dealing with a genuine and legitimate agency by checking their credential and company’s information and transparency.
