Beware! LionStock.co 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.
Warning! LionStock.co is a scam Forex broker that’s operated by a company that was blacklisted in the British Virgin Islands in November 2020. The warnings issued by the financial authorities are the ultimate scam proof, but we managed to detect other disturbing aspects in the business of LionStock.co. Find out everything you need to know about this shady Forex broker in the full LionStock.co review.
LionStock.co REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
The financial authority in the British Virgin Islands- BVIFSC issued a warning against Kiqiwk Holdings Intl Limited stating that this company and its trading names are not licensed to sell financial products and services. The island’s watchdog scrutinised the company because of activities conducted under the name of SolutionsMarkets– another brand of the company. Have a look at the publication.
BVIFSC is a demanding financial regulator, and a license issued is quite costly and compliant to a variety of rules. In terms of customer protection, however, the British Virgin Islands stands behind Europe and the USA. There is a minimum capital requirement of 1 million USD in paid-up capital for FX license, which doesn’t make BVI an attractive destination for shady brokers that are aiming to walk off with your money.
Your funds are not safe if you deposit with LionStock.co because it’s an unlicensed, unregulated and unauthorized to offer Forex and CFDs services to the public, and recently blacklisted a Forex broker! Choose one that’s legit and adequately regulated instead, because such an entity makes the difference for the traders and investors. In the EU and UK, for example, the brokers have to comply with many strict rules and regulations, which are put in place for the benefit of the traders. Most importantly, however, there are money protection schemes in operation which guarantee the deposits of the clients. In EU (mostly CySEC regulated brokers) you can claim up to 20 000 EUR in compensation, while in the UK (FCA regulated brokers) you are guaranteed even of up to 85 000 GBP per client.
LionStock.co TRADING SOFTWARE
LionStock.co claims to offer MetaTrader4 to its clients; MetaTrader5 is not available. However, the modification that we downloaded and installed was not active, and we were able to open neither demo nor real trading account. We opened one on the Dashboard, but Metatrader remained locked for trading, as well. That’s a red flag to note and a warning sign, confirming once again that LionStock.co is a fraudulent enterprise that should be avoided.
Their web-based platform was working though but lacked the features of Metatrader. The EUR/USD spread is 3.2 pips, which is not a favourable rate. The spread is the price to execute the trade, and it has a direct impact on trading performance. The lower the spread, the bigger the potential profit, but low-regulated brokers should be avoided no matter the competitive spreads available.
Warning! Demo trading is not available! The demo training accounts are mandatory, and you should never deal with brokers that refuse or face difficulties to provide with demo accounts!
The account opened comes with a default leverage level of 1:100, which is impossible to adjust to our preference outside Metatrader. The leverage is a powerful financial tool that allows the traders to increase the size of their positions, thus way amplifying the potential profits. It comes with colossal risk though, because if misused the leverage might cause instant account destruction, especially if the price is moving too fast in both directions.
LionStock.co DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
The minimum deposit is said to be $250 or the equivalent, which is a bit higher compared to the rest of the industry. The regulated Forex brokers will ask for $100 on average in comparison.
The funding methods include Debit/Credit cards, Wire Transfers and Direct Cryptocurrency payment.
The minimum withdrawal is $250 for Wire Transfers with applicable fee of $50 and $100 for Credit/Debit cards with a fee of $25. The withdrawal policy is unfair for the traders and present yet another argument to stay away from LionStock.co.
An account becomes dormant after 6 months of inactivity and will be subject to a deduction of 10% each month. In comparison, no regulated Forex broker is going to impose percentage fees on your account!
No bonuses offered at the time, but LionStock.co reserves the right to run promotions in the future. They specify a minimum trading volume requirements, which equals to 25 times the amount of bonus plus the deposit made, which is the next unfair clause that might worsen the trading performance. The so-called bonuses are not free money, but a leverage tool that further increases the risks for the traders and mostly benefits the brokers.
Warning! LionStock.co allows indebted account! The regulated European brokers are bound to provide the traders with Negative Balance Protection, which means that the losses cannot be greater than the sum deposited!
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK
A group of scammers usually operates many different scam brokers, scam websites and call centres. Sometimes they will simply rely on the quantity; they will publish tens or hundreds of websites and will wait for traders and investors with little or no experience to bite. Nowadays, it’s very cheap to create one, and it looks like a profitable strategy, as they carry on doing it.
The scam itself is a criminal activity. Mostly, the scammers are hiding behind offshore companies and brokers while trying to remain anonymous and difficult to trace. There is no or very light FX regulation in jurisdictions such as the Commonwealth of Dominica, the Marshall Islands or St. Vincent and the Grenadines, making them some of the most popular destinations for shady and illegitimate enterprises. Regulation means customer protection and safety, financial authorities such as CySEC or FCA will make it impossible for a scam Forex broker to conduct illicit activities and harm the traders.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED
No one is immune to scam, and anyone can fall into the trap. Scammers are always looking for new and different ways to scam consumers. What you need to do first, in case you got scammed, is to protect yourself from further risks. Contact your bank and explain to them your situation, they will give you necessary instructions to follow and will help you, if possible, recover your money.
Report what happened to you, file a complaint, contact the financial regulator, contact other government institutions related to trading and investing. Seek help actively!
It’s essential not to rush blindly trying to recover your funds because many scam recovery agencies and individuals are stalking, aiming to double scam the victims. These will most likely ask for an advanced payment, but will do nothing to help you recover your losses!
Share online your experience; it’s important to protect others, as well. Be responsible!
Georgios
I have requested the withdrawal of my money and they do not implement it. My financial advisor Argyrw who at the beginning was very sweet as soon as I put in my money does not contact me despite any of my calls. As in the emails I sent. Obviously it is a scam company do not put money in them.