Beware! VAKSC 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.
VAKSC is a forex company trading in forex, CFDs, indices, metals and commodities. We are looking at some key features to find out whether it is safe or not to trade with this broker.
VAKSC Regulation and safety of funds
From this broker’s website, we find out that VAKSC Market originally with an address in St Vincent and the Grenadines is incorporated as an international forex broker in UK. We checked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that regulates forex brokers in UK to see if this company is really in the FCA register. As per the screenshot below, you will see that it is not:
Furthermore, you should be informed that St Vincent and the Grenadines is an offshore zone and the Financial Services Authority there do not regulate forex brokers. The conclusion we can make from this fact finding is that this broker is not regulated in St Vincent and the Grenadines, it does not appear in the FCA register, therefore, we are dealing with non-legit broker, possibly a scammer. You are well advise to stay away from such non-legit broker as you’ll be at risk of losing your funds.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a reliable and licensed broker, we suggest that you choose a broker from one of the well-established jurisdictions around the world that offer excellent conditions for guarantee of traders funds and compensation in case the broker goes bankrupt. For example, in EU and UK, there are strict requirements that forex brokers must meet in order to be licensed. There are also a lot of preventive measures set in place so scammers can’t get in. For example, licensed brokers must have an initial capital of no less than 730,000 EUR and also they must contribute to a compensation scheme from which traders could be compensated if the broker declares bankruptcy. Traders will be compensated up to 85,000 GBP per person if the broker is regulated by FCA and up to 20,000 EUR per person if the broker is regulated by CySEC. You won’t find better conditions than these that guarantee safety for your funds and a peace of mind that you won’t be scammed.
VAKSC Trading software
The trading platform offered by VAKSC is the MetaTrader 5. We must say that this platform is one of the best trading platforms in forex trade as it offers a lot of trading tools and instruments to the traders. It comes with an auto trading option, VPS, code base with customs scripts, trading signals that require a subscription fee, an app market, a financial calendar and a rich variety of charting options that help traders analyse the fluctuation in price.
MetaTrader 5 platform normally comes with a demo account, but in this case, the links for opening one were missing. So, we can only show you the unbranded version of MT5 (in the screenshot below). In the top horizontal bar, yousee the charting options together with the algo trading option. On the left hand side, there is the menu for the currency pairs with their bid/ask price and beneath is the navigator for the accounts, subscriptions, indicators, expert advisors, scripts and other services. In the middle of the screen, there is a display of the charts with the currency pairs together with their bid/ask price and a chart of the fluctuation in price in a given time frame. In this image, you can see displayed 4 charts with 4 currency pairs but their number can vary according to the trader’s needs.
However, you must be aware that a platform is only secondary to the broker’s license. It does not matter how excellent the trading platform is if the broker, like in our case, is not licensed.
From the account types information, we find out that the spread for these accounts are in normal limits – 0.03 pips for the ECN account, 1.0 pip for the VIP account and 1.5 pips for the Pro account. However, we are alarmed to see that the leverage is too high – 1:300, 1:400 and 1:500 respectively. Such high leverage signifies 2 things – a big win or a big loss for the trader. Newbies in the forex trade world may be tempted with the idea of a big win. However, their dream may prove to be short-lived as statistically, 70% of the traders mark loss in their transactions. It pays off to play safe when it comes to leverage. Licensed brokers in EU have a leverage cap and cannot exceed 1:30. Similarly, in US licensed brokers cannot offer leverage higher than 1:50. These are measures to protect traders’ funds and to make sure that they do not undertake risky transactions.
VAKSC Deposit/Withdrawal methods and fees
VAKSC offers 3 trading account types. We start with the pro with the lowest initial deposit of $100, next is the ECN with an initial minimum deposit of $5,000 and last is the VIP account with initial deposit of $10,000.
The feed their accounts or to make a withdrawal, traders have a choice of different payment methods – bank transfer, AstroPay, Neteller, Perfect Money, WebMoney, Skrill, and credit card.
Processing time, depending on the payment methods varies from instantaneous to 3-5 days.
However, after you open an account and click on the deposit button, you see that the only option available to feed your account is via bank transfer that takes 3 to 5 business days.
In the footer of the company’s website, we see a lot of links leading to different types of information. However, first of all, these links are broken and second, so we were unable to open Terms and Conditions document.
How does scam work?
A lot of people get scammed everyday, not because they are naive or stupid, but because scammers are inventive and they are masters of manipulation. Often, as you scroll up and down on the Internet or social media, you come across ads for a quick and easy profit which sometimes sound too tempting not to fall into their traps. So you deposit some money into the account and what happens next is the incessant calls of the scammers. First, they congratulate you for taking the first steps towards becoming rich and next, they try to convince you to invest even more money into their ‘profitable’ business. What you probably don’t know is that your money has just gone as a commission to some scammers. And so, you wait and build the sandcastles of your dreams for a better and ‘richer’ future. And you wait, and you wait, for the money to come. But where is it? Now is your turn to call the scammers and to ask what’s going on. They try to placate you and ask you to be more patient. But have had enough and all you want is to get your money back. The scammers kind of promise, but now they are asking you to provide this document or fill out that form, etc., etc., all done in an attempt to delay you from filing for chargeback.
What to do if scammed?
If this happens to you, our advice is to act immediately and if you have paid your deposit via credit/debit card, to file for chargeback which is retroactive cancellation and refund of your previous transaction. Visa and MasterCard give you 540 days time limit to file for chargeback which gives you a fighting chance to recover your money.
However, if you have used bitcoin or bank wire for your payment, the chances of you recovering your money are really slim.
Whatever you do to recover your funds, beware of the so-called recovery agents. Please make sure that you are dealing with a genuine one by checking their credentials and company’s information transparency. Otherwise, you may fall victim to another form of scam.
Cancelling your credit/debit card in case you have given the scammers your CVV code may be another good idea. Also, make sure to remove from your PC any software that my give scammers access to your private data stored on your computer.
