Beware! Fxsmartoption 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.
Fxsmartoption trades in binary options and forex. Trading in binary option may present a high risk of losing funds and is banned in the EU. We are going to investigate some key features and find out if this broker is reliable or not.
fxsmartoption Regulation and safety of funds
As per the company’s website footer, we see that this broker claims to be based and regulated in Canada. However, this was not confirmed when we checked the registers of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organisation in Canada (IIROC). We have a reasonable ground to doubt that this forex broker is legitimate.
The fact that this broker offers trade in binary options and does not appear to be licensed puts potential clients in double jeopardy of losing their funds. The law in Canada requires that all Canadian forex brokers must be registered with the IIROC which sets high-quality regulatory standards to protect traders funds. One of the standards is that forex brokers in Canada are members of the Canadian Investors Protection Fund (CIPF) which insures all clients with up to $1 million in case the broker goes bankrupt.
fxsmartoption Trading software
As we mentioned already, fxsmartoption offers trade in binary options. This is a type of trade where the trader makes a prediction about a fixed outcome of the transaction and if the prediction is correct, it results in the agreed payout. If the prediction is not correct, it results in financial loss. It resembles a lot of gambling and is banned in Europe.
In the screenshot below, you can see the web trader that shows the BTC/USD fluctuation in price. Traders can decide what the fixed payout will be and move the bar to that position selecting also the timeframe. It is basic and it results in a win or loss of funds.
Although trading in binary options may look like an easy way to make money, we do not recommend it as it is a question of taking chances with your money.
When it comes to trading software, we would like to recommend the MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5 trading platforms. What they offer is far superior to any other trading platforms. Both MT4 and MT5 come equipped with an auto trading option, VPS and trading signals, an app market, a financial calendar and charting options that are truly amazing and help the traders analyse and predict the future direction of the exchange rates. No wonder, these two platforms are choice number one among the forex brokers and you are well-advised to select a licensed broker that offers these platforms.
fxsmartoption Deposit/Withdrawal methods and fees
After you register an account with fxsmartoption, you can select one the 4 different account types – Starter, Silver, Gold and Premium. The minimum initial deposit for the Starter account is $700 which we think is rather high. Licensed brokers usually ask only for $100 or $200 initial deposit. For the other accounts, the initial deposits start at $1,000, $1,500 and $2,500 respectively. What we noticed in the account types information is that there is a mention of the total earnings for each account. It is hard to believe that this is realistic, especially given the fact that trading in binary option is high risk and also that around 70% of traders’ transactions result in financial loss. So, please, reason rationally when it comes to empty promises.
To feed their accounts, clients have a limited choice between cryptocurrency and Skrill. Withdrawal methods are the same with the addition of bank transfers. As per the company’s Terms and Conditions, withdrawal requests are processed immediately and there are no fees on withdrawal.
If you look again at the different account types image, you will see that for all accounts but the Starter, the company offers bonuses which are $1,000, $2,000 and $4,000 accordingly. Bonuses usually come with some heavy to fulfil requirements attached to them. However, on the company’s website, we couldn’t find any information about what the conditions for accepting bonuses are. You must be aware that licensed brokers do not offer any bonuses or free gifts, so we ask you to exercise caution wherever bonuses are concerned and not to accept any unless you know what the conditions are.
How does scam work?
A lot of people get scammed every day, 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 a 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.
