Beware! Stocks24 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.
Stocks24 is a licensed broker but eventually turned out to be a really fishy one. It offers MetaTrader4 accounts with the standard CFD instruments, increased leverage and not so favourable spreads. In the following text, we’ll reveal intriguing facts about the broker, so before depositing, make sure to read the full Stocks24 review first.
Stocks24 REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
Stocks24 is a trading name of Turbo Trading Limited, a company incorporated in Vanuatu that actually holds a license granted by the local regulator. We already know it for two other brands of theirs- DowTrade and Dowfx.com, both of which suspicious. Anyway, the regulatory framework in Vanuatu is loose, and the only measure worth mentioning is the capital adequacy requirement of $50 000. In fact, VFSC licensed brokers are not any safer than the regular offshore FX creatures because they don’t have to follow any customer protection rules, too.
As an illustration of what we just said, Stocks24 created its Terms and Conditions under the Croatian governing laws, which is unacceptable. And VFSC allows the broker to do so, showing how worthy the Vanuatu regulation actually is. That’s fishy, and it indicates that your funds won’t be safe if you deposit with Stocks24, notwithstanding the license it has. Moreover, the broker may as well disappear at any moment, and the regulator will be powerless to help the people who lost money. Vanuatu simply doesn’t have the means to do so.
On the other hand, as an EU member, Croatia implemented the MiFID 2 guidelines, so the brokers registered there must comply with various regulations. To name a few, the companies need to provide €730 000 in paid-up capital, limit leverage, guarantee negative balance protection, keep clients’ funds segregated and follow strict internal procedures. Well, Stocks24 apparently doesn’t fancy compliance, so to the detriment of their clients, they went offshore to reduce costs and evade following rules. Still, their website is not accessible from the EU, which is a positive feature we need to note.
As this is an unreliable and potentially fraudulent broker, you’d better consider the EU brokers and British brokers topping both lists. We recommend those because the Europeans offer high-grade security and protection guaranteed by deposit insurance funds created to reimburse clients in case of insolvency or fraud. Thus, CySEC brokers’ traders can claim up to 20 000 EUR in compensation, while the British guarantees are up to 85 000 GBP per person. So if you are eligible to open an account with European FX companies, you can safely go for it.
The first screenshot shows an intriguing clause in the Terms:
The second one displays the Turbo Trading Limited license:
Stocks24 TRADING SOFTWARE
The trading software is delivered by TechInvest, which also provides for Dowfx.com and DowTrade. Stocks24 offers MetaTrader4, which is a top Forex platform beloved by millions of traders worldwide. However, the EUR/USD spread is 3 pips, which isn’t a competitive Buy/Sell difference at all. Most of the adequately regulated brokers offer spreads of 1 pip and below with their entry accounts, so it’s costly to trade with Stocks24—a good reason alone to avoid it.
That said, the high-rated MetaTrader4 brokers and MetaTrader5 brokers on both lists are safe and deliver upper-class software with excellent trading conditions. The MT distributions are packed with sophisticated tools such as Expert Advisors, many complex indicators, sophisticated charting tools and a marketplace featuring more than 10 000 apps. MT is definitely the best choice for traders.
The leverage is 1:200 fixed, a risky ratio that can cause severe losses if not carefully deployed. Suspiciously, however, Stocks24 doesn’t allow traders to choose or later adjust the levels to their preferences in the Client Area. It’s probably viable for them to do so by contacting the Support, but the procedure is more complicated than necessary. On the other end, most regulated brokers allow traders to adjust leverage themselves, so we give a big thumb down to Stocks24.
In fact, leverage is utterly dangerous, and most of the respected authorities do regulate it to reduce traders’ risks. For example, EU, British and Australian brokers‘ clients are limited to 1:30, while Canadian brokers and US brokers can’t provide more than 1:50. In addition, most of the high-leverage FX companies are unlicensed, and we urge traders to be careful when it comes to leverage.
Stocks24 DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
Seemingly, traders are allowed to deposit as much as they want, as Stocks24 doesn’t impose minimum requirements. The funding methods are Bitcoin, Wire Transfers, Credit/Debit cards and CorvusPay. The latter is a Croatian payment processor, and the deposits made will be automatically converted into the local currency. Well, it’s legit, but we urge traders to deposit money only via methods they are familiar with and can trust.
That said, we can offer our lists with Skrill brokers, Neteller brokers, FasaPay brokers, Sofort brokers, and Bitcoin brokers if you have a preferred choice. The companies on top of both lists are adequately regulated, and you won’t face scammers.
We found no information about minimum withdrawals and withdrawal fees either. In fact, the only expense mentioned is the hefty inactivity charge. According to the clause, after only 30 days of inactivity, the account becomes dormant and will be subject to a $60 monthly fee. That’s unfair, and the broker once again proves to be much costlier than the regulated ones who charge dormant accounts 5 to 10 dollars per month at most. Beware!
Overall, Stocks24 is a costly broker that’s licensed but at the same time revealing evidence of a scam. You’d better avoid this suspicious business.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK
The Forex scam is a popular type of fraud that’s rather distinctive because it’s a process. In the typical scenario, the victim clicked on an ad, then received a phone call, and at some point got convinced to deposit money. To make people accept fraudulent offers, scammers would present deals that sound too good to be true, bonuses, get-rich-quick schemes, and so on. Their imagination is rich and would invent as many stories to get the craved deposits.
Unfortunately, the initial deposit is not the end but the beginning. Gradually, scammers would manipulate victims and would urge them to invest repeatedly. For example, con artists may not allow people to trade themselves but would pretend to manage the trading accounts. Forged results would show victims massive profits, and scammers would ask for more money, promising to secure more gains.
However, the problem starts when people ask for withdrawals. Scammers would make excuses to refuse withdrawals and even require additional deposits to let people take their money out. Those criminals won’t stop asking for funds, no matter what. In the worst case, the victim would believe in the scammers’ falsehood and deposit again and again. However, sooner or later, the scam would become evident, the fraudsters would cut the communication and eventually disappear. They would drop the website, create a new one and carry on with their criminal business untouched, while people would be left with losses almost impossible to recover.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED
Unfortunately, no one is immune to scam. If this unfortunately happens, the first thing to do is to protect yourself from further risk. Contact your bank and explain what happened so that they can give you instructions and help, 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, call the police if you feel necessary. Seek help actively!
Remember, it’s crucial not to rush to recover funds because many scam chargeback agencies and individuals are trying to double scam the victims. They ask for upfront payment, take the money but won’t do anything to help you!
Share online your experience; it’s important to protect others, as well. Be responsible!
Tarek Atallah
Stocks24 is the worst broker you can deal with. Their account managers are not expert at all they can’t make technical analysis or even expect the coming events correctly. So, my advice is never try stocks24.
Sameh Makky
If you need to lose you money easily, proceed further.
It is not recommended. Search for another way to invest in your money.
Khaled
Scammers. Proceed further if you would like to lose your money.