Beware! Eliteinvesto is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.
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Are you looking at the Eliteinvesto website and scratching your head trying to figure out whether you should join this broker and watch your bank account grow? After all, Eliteinvesto claims to be fully authorised with reputable forex brokers regulators and there is the promise for the safety of your accounts. Unfortunately, things are not always as they seem, so we dig deep to find out the truth behind this broker.
Eliteinvesto Regulation and safety of funds
Eliteinvesto does not provide an address on its website but claims to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and the Cyprus Security Exchange Commission (CySec), two very reputable forex brokers regulators. We searched the registered of these regulators but both our searches came back blank.
When we registered a live account and got the confirmation email, we discovered in the footer of the email that actually the website is owned and operated by Elite Investo Limited Liability company registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) which is an offshore zone for forex trade without a regulatory body for forex brokers.
We think we gathered sufficient proof that this broker is not legally registered and is not licensed. We suspect that we might be dealing with a scammer looking for potential victims to fleece them of their hard-earned money.
FCA and CySec are strict regulators and there are lots of measures set in place to make sure that the safety of clients’ funds is guaranteed. First of all, EU and UK brokers must invest 730,000 EUR initial capital which among other things prevents scammers from sneaking in. In adherence to ESMA guidelines, the clients’ funds are kept separately from broker’s with tier-1 bank establishments, the broker must provide negative balance protection, keep leverage that does not exceed 1:30 for forex currencies, report regularly transactions for the sake of transparency. In addition to that, EU and UK brokers are banned from offering bonuses and other incentives. A big advantage for trading with licensed brokers from these two jurisdictions is that the forex brokers are required to participate and deduct funds towards a compensation fund or scheme from which clients can get reimbursed in case the broker goes bankrupt. UK brokers participate in the local Financial Services Compensation Scheme which can repay clients with up to 85,000 GBP per client if the broker is insolvent. EU brokers, on the other hand, participate in a local investor compensation fund that provides up to 20,000 EUR per client if the broker goes belly up.
Eliteinvesto Trading software
Eliteinvesto trades in forex, indices, commodities and stocks. Although we registered a trading account and got a verification email with login information and a password, we discovered that the link to the trading floor was broken. The MetaTrader 4 trading platform which is offered to the traders was not downloadable either due again to a broken link. And we must say that this is another sign that we are dealing with a scammer. Licensed and self-respecting forex brokers will not tolerate such mishaps on their website!
From the information about the trading account types, we can see that the leverage offered by this broker is 1:500. This is another sign that this broker is fraudulent as EU and UK brokers can only offer leverage for forex currencies that is below 1:30. Trading with high leverage for sure will put traders’ funds at risk because high leverage amplifies the scope of financial loss that traders may suffer in case of unsuccessful transactions which happens to 70% of the traders.
We suspect that this dodgy broker is trying to lure potential traders with the empty promise of good quality trading software. We all know that the MetaTrader 4 trading platform is one of the best in forex trade despite being launched on the market 15 years ago. This is largely due to the excellent package of trading tools and instruments that give traders an edge in executing trades. We can mention the auto trading option, VPS, the app market, code base with customs scripts, trading signals, etc. One of the key features for this platform that make it so popular among brokers and traders alike is the charting options that contain lots of charts, time frames, colours and even the option of creating customised templates. Combined with the array of technical analysis indicators, such as Fibonacci retracement, moving averages, Bollinger Bands, etc., they help traders predict the future direction of exchange rates and make a profit.
However, as we always say, a trading platform is as good as its broker is reliable and sadly this is not the case.
Eliteinvesto Deposit/Withdrawal methods and fees
Eliteinvesto offers 4 trading accounts (image below) – Starter, Expert, Pro and Prime. As you can see, there is no information about the minimum initial deposit for each trading account is. Only in the Payment Methods section on this broker website we see the minimum deposit shown to be $100. The payment methods are visible in the footer of the company’s interface and they include payments made via credit card, wire transfer, BPay, Skrill, Neteller and UnionPay.
The minimum withdrawal amount is also $100. There are no deposit or withdrawal fees and the processing time for a withdrawal request for most of the withdrawal methods is 1-2 business days, except for wire transfers which may take up to 5 business days.
We must note that there is no Terms and Conditions document to explain the legalities in dealing with this broker. Yet, another sign that this broker is not to be trusted.
How does scam work?
If scammers make a movie, it will probably be called “Dream on”. They make everything sound credible and build their scam on your dreams of getting an easy and quick profit. People get duped if they decide to deposit money into one of the scammers’ schemes. What you probably do not know is that your hard-earned money goes as commission to the scammers. Next, you get inundated by daily calls. First, the scammers congratulate you for joining their business, next they try to persuade you to invest even more money. After all, the more money you send, the bigger money fall you can expect. This of course is not how things work. By the time you realise that no money is coming your way, it might be too late. All you want now is to get your money back and get out of there but the scammers have other plans for you and they won’t late get away so easily. Now they try to delay you so that you miss the deadline for a chargeback.
What to do if scammed?
If you get scammed, our advice is to act immediately and if you have paid your deposit via credit/debit card you may still have a chance. Visa and MasterCard allow 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.
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.
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.
