Beware! Capital Sands 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.
If you are looking for a fast way to get scammed and lose your money, Capital Sands is a great option. While their website looks legit enough and offers “fund security” and claims multiple times that they are a regulated company there is no actual evidence to support such claims. All their Google reviews are 5-star, all the client testimonials – unbelievably positive – a sure sign something is wrong. There are however bigger problems with Capital Sands check out the following review to find out more.
Capital Sands Regulations and Safety of Funds
Capital Sands claims to have three offices – one in Delhi, one in Dubai, and a “registered office” in London. However, they fail to provide any sort of reliable legal documents that prove that. On their website, they have only provided a Certificate of Incorporation for India and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This indeed means that they are registered at these locations as a company but doesn’t in itself indicate that they are authorized to offer investment services.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a location adored by scammers because although they have a regulatory body in the face of Тhe Financial Services Authority (FSA), it has stated multiple times that it “does not issue any licenses to carry on the business of FOREX Trading or Brokerage or Binary Options Trading nor does the FSA “Regulate, Monitor, Supervise or License” International Business Companies (IBCs) which engage in such activities.” This means that any claims of regulation are merely a hoax.
No legal document for the “registered office” in the UK is available. We didn’t find any information regarding such a company in the FCA register. The closest thing there was to a match was a company going by a similar name – Sands Capital. There is indeed such a UK-regulated broker but the address and the website are completely different. One thing that quickly caught our attention is that the FCA has issued a warning about a clone company going by a similar name – Capital Sands-FX.
We have already done a review on them and proven they are a compete scam. Their logo also looks suspiciously like the one of Capital Sands.
Another thing that proves Capital Sands are not to be trusted is the mention of bonuses on their website. UK-registered brokers are prohibited from providing bonuses to traders. While we couldn’t find any further information about said bonuses, this only goes to show that there is something wrong going on.
Forex brokers who are registered in the UK and Europe hold a way higher level of credibility than offshore ones like Capital Sands. Firstly, they are required to hold a minimum capital of €730 000 to ensure their legitimacy.
Furthermore, traders that work with such companies are protected in case of unfortunate events like bankruptcy of the broker – there are compensation funds in place that guarantee you can claim up to £85 000 in the UK or €20 000 in Cyprus. So you would be better off if you opened an account with such brokers.
Capital Sands Trading Software
Capital Sands offers access to the web trading platform Markets 24×365 and claim that this is “the fastest growing trading platform”. The platform is nothing impressive and lacks a lot of the functions industry giant MetaTrader can offer like Expert Advisors that track markets and trade based on an algorithm or signals you can set to get information when prices go above or below a certain level.
Another indicator that something might be wrong is that the proven scam company Capital Sands-FX uses is exactly the same platform. It is a usual practice for scammers to reuse software under the names of different companies which is why you won’t find any mentions of the company’s name anywhere on the platform.
Capital Sands Trading Conditions
Capital Sands offers you to choose between two types of accounts – a Standard one and a Raw one. The difference between those two is the amount of the initial deposit – $100 for the Standard account and $500 for the Raw account – and the spreads. In case you open a Raw account you could get spreads from 0.0 pips and the standard account offers you spreads starting from 1.2 pips. The leverage rate is the same in both cases – 1:500, far higher than the 1:30 allowed in the UK where Capital Sands claims to be registered. This high leverage comes with the promise of big profit but you should be careful – it also increases the possibility of losing a lot of money.
Capital Sands Deposit/Withdrawal Methods and Fees
The minimum deposit to open an account at Capital Sands is $100 for a standard account and $500 for a raw account as previously stated. They accept payments with Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, or via bank transfer. When you withdraw, the scammers might ask you to verify your account by taking a picture of your face along with “identification documents, such as passport, other types of ID, address proof, bank reference letter, and/or any other relevant documents”. While legitimate brokers might also ask you to do that in order to make withdraws more secure, such scammers use your personal information to later revoke your claim to a chargeback.
How does the scam work?
Usually, such scams start with an ad or banner you see on the Internet that advertises the company in question as offering impossibly high profits. Such scammers want you to see them as the easy way to a luxurious lifestyle and would do anything to get your attention.
The moment you provide them with any sort of personal information or contact details, you will start receiving calls from these cons asking you to pay an initial deposit of a certain amount. With time, you will be asked to invest even more money. To compel you to do that, these experienced frauds can make it look like you are making huge profits. But the moment you decide to try and withdraw your money, they will come up with reasons to prevent you from doing so like making up additional taxes you should pay. This is done to ensure the time period in which you can get your money back through Visa or MasterCard withdrawals runs out. Currently, that time period is 540 days.
It is virtually impossible to get your money back if you have paid with some sort of cryptocurrency and for that reason, such payment methods are preferred by scammers.
What to do if scammed?
If you fall victim to such a scam and are using a credit or debit card, you should file for a chargeback right away. If you were paying through bank transfers, you should contact your bank immediately and ask for assistance. As stated, scammers might deny you the chargeback on the basis of the fact that you have verified your account and sent them your personal info. There is little you can do in such cases. If the frauds had gained access to any sensitive information like banking passwords and usernames, it would be best for you to change those.
One last thing you should remember – don’t trust any “recovery agents” that offer you a fast refund. Such people exploit scam victims` hopes of gaining their money back by either collecting a fee or asking you to reinvest. Once this is done, you will never hear from them again.
