Beware! Zero Markets 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.
Zero Markets used to be an ASIC regulated trustworthy broker, but not anymore. It is introduced as a group of companies, some of which licensed. However, the broker is sneakily trying to place its services through an offshore entity, and thus way circumvent particular laws and regulations. That’s a deplorable decision! As a result, financial regulators started issuing warnings against the broker, putting it on par with the most disgraceful scams out there. In the following review, you can find out more about the Zero Markets problems.
Zero Markets REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
It’s a mess. Zero Markets is a brand of Zero Markets LLC, a company incorporated in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and as such, it can offer increased leverage and evade other regulations. That’s because SVG is a shady offshore jurisdiction that’s poorly regulating its markets, and the local authority SVGFSA doesn’t even license Forex brokers. Indeed, the island is overcrowded with scammers and dodgy entities precisely due to the regulation deficit.
But that’s not the end of the story as the offshore entity is part of a group of companies, some of which still holding licenses (Zero Financial Pty Ltd is registered with ASIC in Australia). Nevertheless, Zero Markets itself is unlicensed and shouldn’t target European clients, but it does. As should have been expected, it was caught by the Spanish regulator CNMV, which issued a warning against the broker, de facto exposing it as fraudulent. Eventually, a business group holding Forex licenses ended up with a scam alert. That’s a bummer! After the warning, we conclude that your funds won’t be safe if you deposit because Zero Markets is blacklisted.
However, we also have to recognise that Zero Markets is making fraudulent claims by presenting itself as regulated. Well, it’s actually not, and you should avoid it because the broker’s Australian licenses serve for decoration only.
As the broker in question is unreliable, you can consider the high-rated EU brokers and British brokers, which are adequately regulated and, most importantly, covered by deposit insurance funds. Namely, if you trade with a CySEC broker, you can claim up to 20 000 EUR in compensation, while the British protections are up to 85 000 GBP per person. The deposit funds guarantee an extra layer of protection, so it’s worth opening accounts with European companies if eligible to do so.
Zero Markets TRADING SOFTWARE
Zero Markets MetaTrader4 and MetaTrader5 platforms, both of which are dominating the market for more than a decade. In fact, the number of brokers offering MT5 recently surpassed MT4, but the latter still register higher trading volumes. We accessed MT4 and encountered a EUR/USD spread of 1.2 pips, which is generally in line with the industry standards, so Zero Markets is not costly to trade with. However, it’s blacklisted, so you shouldn’t consider opening an account there.
Instead, you’d better check the high-rated MetaTrader4 brokers and MetaTrader5 brokers, which are delivering even more favourable spreads. We recommend MT brokers because the platforms are packed with sophisticated features such as Expert Advisors, complex indicators, and excellent charting tools. MetaTrader also comes with an unrivalled bonus- a Marketplace where clients can browse through more than 10 000 apps and other trading solutions.
The maximum leverage possible is 1:500, a ratio too risky for retail traders. In fact, the Australian regulator agreed on leverage regulations, so Zero Markets seemingly migrated offshore to keep offering high leverage. We are merely guessing, but whatever the reason, the decision they took is sinful, and they deserved a warning on its name, wasting its reputation away.
In fact, the most reliable brokers in the industry are leverage restricted, and that’s because of the massive risks involved. Namely, licensed EU, British and Australian brokers have to limit retail clients to 1:30 for FX majors, while Canadian brokers and US brokers to 1:50. High-leverage offshore brokers are poorly regulated or not at all, so you can quickly end up being defrauded. Beware!
Zero Markets DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
Zero Markets’ minimum deposit is 0$, so traders can seemingly fund their accounts with as little as they want. The funding methods are Credit/Debit cards, ZotaPay, 4xPay, Online Banking, Bank Wire, NganLuong.vn, Neteller, Skrill, ClipPay and Ebuy. Out of those, the Credit/Debit cards deposits are considerably safer because clients are allowed to dispute transactions and eventually get a refund- up to 540 days after the transaction.
Nevertheless, we’d like to offer our lists with Skrill brokers, Neteller brokers, FasaPay brokers, Sofort brokers, and Bitcoin brokers if you have trusted payment systems. The companies topping the lists are adequately regulated, and you won’t face scammers if you choose among the high-rated ones.
There are no withdrawal restrictions, but fees are applicable for withdrawal methods, as the sums are not more than 10 AUD per transaction. However, the inactivity fees presented us with issues. An account becomes inactive after only 2 months of idleness and will be subject to unspecified increasing charges. As you can see from the screenshot below, Zero Markets apparently tried to specify those fees but failed.
Overall, Zero Markets is a blacklisted unreliable broker, so you should avoid it!
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK
Today, the Internet is plagued by scammers and their tricky deals. It all starts when you click on an appealing fraudulent offer and provide your e-mail and contact numbers. Scammers, as seasoned manipulators, would ring you at once, insisting that you should start investing as soon as possible. During the phone call, you’d be presented with bonuses, promotions, risk-free offers, Bitcoin opportunities, and anything else you could possibly imagine. Scammers would claim to work with reputable firms, banks, governments, and so on, trying to make their business appear legit. Those thieves lie big time and would promise you anything to gain your confidence and get a deposit from you.
However, the first deposit is just the beginning. Day by day, scammers would carry on asking for funds. If you lost, they’d persuade you to put more money and recover the losses. If you are profitable, you’d be asked to put more money and increase the gains. The headaches start as soon as you ask to take your money back. The scammers would do whatever it takes to discourage you and would even urge you to deposit again if you want to withdraw. The scammers’ mantra is “give me your money”, they’d push you to transfer more money over and over again for no obvious reason. Urgency is a treacherous sign, so if someone forces you to invest ASAP, that’s a scam.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED
Unfortunately, no one is safe from scams. If you get defrauded, the first thing you need to do is to protect yourself from further risk. Deactivate your card immediately, contact your bank and ask for advice.
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 blindly trying to recover your funds because fraudulent fund recovery agencies are trying to double scam the victims. They ask for upfront payment, take the money but don’t do anything to help you!
Last but not least, share online your experience; it’s important to inform the public about scams. Be responsible!
