Beware! KitcoMarkets.com 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.
KitcoMarkets.com looks and feels like a legitimate brokerage firm. There are many signs to suggest this, most of them based on looks, but there are also many elements that point to an experience that users will regret having. Unfortunately, we will have to consider KitcoMarkets.com as a suspicious firm because it turned out that the negatives sides to it outweigh the positive ones. For one, the entire structure of the website is based on a familiar template that is well known among the unregulated brokers’ community. Our advice is for users to read through the review first, before doing something that they will ultimately regret.
To open an account we had to fill in some personal details, and after clicking the submit button, our case was sent for consideration. Without even receiving an email, we were stuck in a sort of registration limbo for a while, until we realized that we were never getting approved. We suppose the broker did not see in us a potential victim.
Anyway, without an account, we have no other choice than to take all the trading and payment details from the website of the company. However, take everything we quote with a grain of last, because it may not all be accurate or even close to the truth.
The alleged trading assets are forex currency pairs, commodities, indices, bonds, and shares. The spreads, is said, can reach 0 pips, which is impressive, but we are sure that there are hidden commissions. However, the home page reveals a 2.4 pips spread for the EUR/USD currency pair, which is above what is acceptable. A zero spread means that the broker is not profiting in any way. The leverage is 1:500, the most common offshore broker amount.
The broker’s website is available in one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
KITCOMARKETS.COM REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
The major source of information for a license and all things serious is missing. The legal documents are nowhere to be seen nor found. Without the legal papers, KitcoMarkets.com has nothing to keep it from completely manipulate the user and her funds. The information pool was the footer and the contact page of the website.
There we found very misleading claims. Allegedly, the main offices of the broker are located in New York, Hong Kong, and London. These are some of the world’s hottest FX spots, and as such all brokers are required to be regulated to the uttermost detail if they wish to provide legal FX services.
In the US, brokers must hold authorizations from both the CFTC and the NFA, arguably the most relentless of all regulators. Next is the FCA in the UK, which is the most demanding financial overseer in Europe, followed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission a respectable and honest watchdog.
None of these regulate KitcoMarkets.com. This broker is completely and undeniably UNLICENSED, making it a risk to all investments!
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.
KITCOMARKETS.COM TRADING SOFTWARE
The alleged platform did not have an attached link to download. This means that the broker is trying to hide something. It is our belief that the promoted terminal, the MT4, is not available. Instead, we imagine that KitcoMarkets.com utilizes one of three things. Either a TradingView chart presented as a platform, which would be the most typical scammer move. Or, the trading software is some rundown and technically unimpressive web-based trader’s office that cannot keep on with modern FX trading requirements. Lastly, the broker might not even have a trading software!
KITCOMARKETS.COM DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW
The payment methods are all over the place. Some sections of the website reveal one thing, and others something else. We gathered all the payment supposed methods for convenience: PayPal, Credit & Debit cards, Bank Transfers, Neteller, and Skrill.
The minimum deposit is $200.
According to the FAQ, all withdrawals are processed within 24 hours, however, other sources in the website claim the processing time to be up to 5 days. The broker does not charge any withdrawal fees, but we can never be 100% certain of this.
There is nothing here of interest. Do not waste your money on KitcoMarkets.com!
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.
