Beware! TiMarkets 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.
Despite the somewhat appealing visuals, TiMarkets does not give us too much hope that it is a solid and legitimate broker. Years of reviewing illicit forex brokerages have made us experts at detecting even the smallest of details. At TiMarkets, these details are in your face and aren’t too well hidden. In fact, the more time we spent with this broker, the closer we came to the ultimate realization that TiMarkets is one of the herd of literally thousands of deceiving brokers, whose only focus is on profiting from users. Please, before depositing, read the review to find all there is to know about this company.
The registration process was lengthy, but in the end, we were in with a functioning live account. Actually, once we registered, we were immediately shown a trading software, which seemed to act as the mina hub page of the user area. After some digging, this turned out to be true. The user area is mostly the trading software. All the account/profile stuff are accessible from smaller windows found there.
The trading terminal revealed a cost of trade for the EUR/USD currency pair of 1.5 pips, a value that is the most average of all, but it is lucrative. Our leverage was capped at 1:100, and we found no way of changing it. This is a low leverage for an offshore broker, for sure. The tradeable assets are forex currency pairs, metals, oils, energies, shares, futures. cryptocurrencies, indices, and spot indices. Overall, quite decent trading conditions for a broker whose nature is questionable at best.
The languages of the website are English, Italian, German, and Spanish.
TIMARKETS REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
TiMarkets is a UK Investment Firm regulated by IRBEM. Never heard of this before? Well, neither have we. From what we gathered, IRBEM is a sort of self-sustaining and independent FX regulator, which might seem legit, but this is exactly what it wishes to showcase.
The entire online website of IRBEM is thick with false information and claims, and at times reminds us of a sloppy and scammer broker. In fact, the self-proclaimed regulator is to store s list of illegally operating brokers, and claim that they are overseen by it. IRBEM is in fact nothing more than a scammer regulator realized by a group of FX fraudsters to back their false claims.
Another sign that the broker is not working under the governance of any law is the fact that its Terms and Conditions are very short and mostly uninformative.
TiMarkets is definitely UNLICENSED, and a risk to all investors. Do not deposit here!
There is absolutely nothing one can gain from depositing in an unregulated broker. We urge readers to check for a license prior to investing. The FCA and CySEC are the most popular and some of the best regulators in the world. These two, among other superb overseers, have gained the reputation of being the best through years of regulating some of the world’s top brokers. Watchdogs employ a huge set of rules by which every single broker under them has to abide. They include minimum capital requirements, segregated client bank accounts, the guarantee of funds’ safety, etc. All users under the FCA or CySEC, are eligible for compensation, in case the broker at hand cannot pay its dues. CySEC guarantees up to €20 000 per person, while the FCA guarantees up to £85 000.
TIMARKETS TRADING SOFTWARE
The trading software presented by TiMarkets is a typical MT4 wanna be. It even comes with similar sound effects, not to mention visuals and interface. Those of you who are acquainted with the MT4 or MT5 will see the similarities.
Nevertheless, we found some great features here, and even though they are the same as the one found on the MT4/5, we still think that this platform is worth a go, at least for those more inexperienced traders. The main features are pending orders, stop-loss, take-profit, time frames, many chart customization options, chart indicators,
TIMARKETS DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
As seen in the trader area, the minimum deposit is €50. Investing in the broker can happen through one of the following ways: Cashier, bank transfer, and credit card.
On the other hand, withdrawals happen only through a bank transfer. There are fees, that have been nevertheless undisclosed. Withdrawals are processed within 5 days.
However, and this is a big “but”, the user cannot withdraw profit. This rule is a part of the Non-Deposite Funds clause, making the whole experience completely worthless.
We cannot find a single reason why anyone should invest in TiMarkets.
How does the scam work?
Most fraudulent brokers gain their reputation because of the usage of the scheme, the most popular scheme of all in fact. Its ultimate goal is to steal from users and continue doing so until the users sniff them out, or he or she gives up. The scam follows a number of simple steps, but it is worth noting that many unregulated brokers put their own unique twist on it.
The first step is to bait the user. This happens through the usage of online ads, that appear mostly on social media websites or other similar online sources. The scammer ads are distinguishable by their outrageous promises of wealth and profit through trading, investing, or binary options trading. These advertisements showcase a luxurious life and a care-free lifestyle.
Once a user falls for these tempting clicks, he or she will be asked to provide a telephone number or an email address. Giving these away means that the broker’s first wave of representatives will be contacting you. Their one and only goal is to make one deposit. Furthermore, some brokers choose their targets based on how easily manipulated they are.
An initial deposit means that you are knees deep into the scam. The time has come for the expert scammer, a.k.a the account managers. These are relentless, compelling, and at times charming. They can easily enforce their influence on a trader, and sooner or later this trader will be depositing a second, or third, or fourth time.
At some point during the scam, the user will start getting suspicious as to why she hasn’t been paid yet after only deposit for weeks on end. Every withdrawal request will be met with resistance, and depending on the broker the ways of refusal vary. Some might change your mind and solicit you to deposit more, others might close down the user account, or shut down the entire website. A popular method is to stall until the scammer can completely disappear.
What to do if scammed?
The best advice we can give for those that have been scammed is to file for a chargeback as soon as possible. All credit and debit card companies should have this option on the ready. Note that MasterCard and VISA have extended their chargeback period to 540 days.
Bank transfer payments mean that the scammer can potentially get access to your bank account, so it is crucial to change your password and user name. Another good piece of advice is to contact the bank itself and check with them if they have a ready to go plan for such circumstances.
As for crypto deposits, they most surely are gone. That is what it is paramount to remember never to invest in a shady broker through any sort of cryptocurrency.
A final piece of advice. Victimized users might stumble on recovery agents or agencies, who will promise to get your money back, but not before you pay them a hefty fee. Once the charge is paid, they will sooner or later disappear without helping you even one bit.
nikolaos
definately a scam
C G JONES
Ohhh Doctor Nick… What have you done? You do so much but then abandon your client without a word. Such pain…