Beware! MontToro 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.
MontToro is not a legitimate broker – it is actually best if you avoid the company altogether – here is why:
MontToro regulation and safety of funds
MontToro is not actually a regulated broker – and what’s more, the company lies about its address. Here is the address line it provides us with:
To operate within the US, one needs to have a license with the two regulatory bodies in the country – the NFA and the CFTC. What’s more, they need to have over $20 million to ensure they have what it takes to operate on the volatile markets without going under. There is also the requirement to report on a daily basis on open and closed trades, as a way to prevent any sort of market manipulation or price fixing.
As you can see, getting a US license is no easy feat – and if the broker had one, it would not fail to mention it. And yet, MontToro does not have a word about regulation on its website. Another curious thing about the broker is that it states it does not actually accept US clients, as you can see from the screenshot below:
There is no way that a US broker would turn down US clients now, is there?
Finally, the broker also states US law is somehow not applicable to its interactions with its clients – here is the company’s section on its applicable law:
The broker is not operating from Cyprus either – it cannot be when it contradicts EU policy by offering bonuses that are banned in the Union.
Overall, MontToro simply lies about its regulation and whereabouts to mask the fact it is completely unlicensed – do not fall for it – always trade with licensed brokers!
MontToro trading software
MontToro claims it provides access to Metatrader 5 – the industry standard trading software. It has a link to download the software, but that link simply leads to a stock distribution of the platform that has nothing to do with MontToro. Still, here is what the platform looks like:
In fact, once we made an account, we only had access to the client area seen below:
It seems that MontToro does not really provide any trading – the only option you have with the broker is to deposit!
MontToro deposit and withdrawal methods and fees
MontToro accepts deposits via credit cards – and that is rather beneficial, as it allows a chargeback to be filed on any transaction within 540 days in it taking place. A chargeback might be the only way you have of getting your money out of MontToro’s hands once you have deposited – and you might as well forget about withdrawing any profits – check out MontToro’s Bonus policy:
It states that accounts are credited with a bonus upon their creation – but a withdrawal removes the bonus and the profits made by trading. While most brokers that offer bonuses do so to limit withdrawals, MontToro is unusually direct about it – and this leads us to our next point:
How does the scam work?
MontToro is undeniably running a scam – what’s more, it does so by following a rather played out scheme that we have seen unfold hundreds of times before. Here is how it goes down:
First off, someone stumbles upon the broker’s website they are prompted to make an account with it. If they do so, they are required to leave a phone number, which the brokers will use to call around the clock, demanding deposits. These demands will only stop if the victim is bled dry or realizes they are being conned – at that point, the scammers move on to new targets and simply disappear!
What to do when scammed?
If you have been scammed, you will need to take the following steps to make sure you do not suffer more losses:
Re-issue whatever forms of ID and credit cards the scammers had access to – and remove any remote control software like TeamViewer they had you install on your PC.
Once that is done, contact your bank and see what chargeback options are available to you. Do not trust recovery agencies, however – if they demand an upfront payment for their services, they are simply another scam!
Finally, leave a comment below and tell us of your own experience with MontToro – in doing so, you will be helping us combat the scam by raising awareness of it!
