Beware! MoonFX Trade 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.
MoonFX Trade is just another anonymous broker with big promises and absolutely nothing to offer you – not a functional platform, not possibilities for actual trading, and certainly not the security and safety a solid license by a reputable authority means. These scammers are ready to claim that you will turn impossibly huge profits if you decide to trade with them – but also have a complicated fee system obviously designed to rob you. Avoid such brokers – they are a dime a dozen these days so the best thing you can do is to only turn brokers you are 100% sure you can trust. This includes established brokerages with a license and conditions that are in line with all regulations, and not scammers like MoonFX Trade who go behind regulators’ backs in order to insolently rob people.
MoonFX Trade REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
MoonFX Trade claims that it is based in California but does not actually provide an address or even a phone number. The broker was nowhere to be found in the NFA database – which means that they are not actually regulated in the US, or authorized to offer services to US customers. Even legitimate, big brokerages without a US license are banned from accepting US clients – so anonymous companies like the one behind MoonFX Trade would definitely not be able to legally offer services in the country. The broker keeps claiming that they are regulated and reliable – but offers nothing to support those claims. US brokers are probably the most rigorously regulated in the world – for example, they have to maintain a huge minimum capital of $20 million and report all transactions – which is why there are so few companies who still offer services in the country.
The FCA – the UK financial authority – has even issued a warning on the broker.
Checking the registers of the regulatory bodies responsible for licensing forex brokers in certain countries or regions only takes a few minutes but it will save you a lot of trouble. Working with a reliable broker regulated in the UK, the EU, or Australia would provide you with a huge degree of security and transparency. All licensed brokers have to prove their financial stability by maintaining a certain minimum capital, although not as much as in the US – €730 000 in the EU and the UK, and A$1 million in Australia. However, brokers with many clients might be asked to have more money. This capital cannot be used for the broker’s daily financial operations, it just serves as insurance. Client money are always kept in segregated accounts – which means that the broker cannot use your money for their own financial operations, and negative balance protection is provided – so your losses can never exceed the amount of money you have in your account.
So if you want to trade safely and be sure that you can trust your broker, turn to somebody licensed.
MoonFX Trade TRADING SOFTWARE
The broker promised access to both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 – the two leading platforms in the industry. The MT software has been the most popular in the world of trading since MT4’s introduction in 2006 and it is quite easy to see why – both platforms offer both user-friendly interface, and countless amazing features. Traders will be getting access to tools such as Expert Advisors that track the markets and trade automatically, VPSs, customizable signals, possibilities for creating custom scripts, the chance to try out strategies in a demo account or through back-testing.
However, MoonFX Trade did not actually grant access to either of the platforms. All we got when we logged in to the broker’s client area was a TradingView chart. This free software just tracks the markets and is not any sort of platform you could use for trading. So opening an account with MoonFX Trade is pretty much pointless – you simply would not be able to trade with them.
MoonFX Trade TRADING CONDITIONS
MoonFX Trade provides contradictory information when it comes to minimum deposits – on the website, the broker claims you must deposit at least $200 while in the client area the number is as little as $100. In both cases, you are promised amazing returns in a matter of days – if you deposit $200, MoonFX Trade will multiply your profit 5 times and grant you $100o in two days. And if you deposit $100, you would be getting at least 10 times that in 72 hours. You are right to think such promises sound too good to be true – since they are. No legitimate broker would dare to promise you certain returns in the volatile financial markets. The promise of monstrous returns is a sure sign of scam – so stay away from any broker who makes such offers. If you are interested in affordable trading, check out these brokers with low minimum deposit.
The broker promises spreads as low as 0 pips on EURUSD, and no commissions. You can probably ask what MoonFX Trade profits from if it does not take any of your money. That is a reasonable question. The broker actually has a complicated fee system – it charges a one-off fee of €59 and then a 15% performance fee for every 10% of profit. This fee is actually pretty big – and we can assure you that you will probably be turning crazy profits with this broker since scammers can easily manipulate your results to make it seem like you are winning (subsequently, you will also be paying crazy fees).
The broker promises leverage as high as 1:200 (1:500 if requested). No US broker would offer such rates since the leverage brokers could offer in the US is up to 1:50. The number is even lower in the EU, the UK, and Australia – 1:30. These restrictions exist because higher leverage could lead to huge profits, and huge losses alike – but for beginner traders it is usually the latter. That is why authorities try to limit the losses you could suffer. But if you have the experience and are willing to risk with higher leverage, check out brokers who offer rates as high as 1:100.
Since MoonFX Trade does not offer a functional trading platform, however, any talk of spreads or leverage is actually pointless – as we mentioned, you would not be able to trade with this broker.
MoonFX Trade DEPOSIT/WITHDRAWAL METHODS AND FEES
MoonFX Trade offers different deposit options – bank transfer, online payment solutions such as PayPal, Stripe, and Paystack but obviously favors crypto payments – you would be able to deposit in Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, and Litecoin. You can even purchase crypto directly from MoonFX Trade as they supposedly also offer crypto exchange services such as buying and selling crypto.
Stay away from brokers who urge you to deposit in a cryptocurrency – there is a huge chance they are scammers. Crypto transactions are irreversible – such is the very nature of the blockchain technology. This would make it impossible for you to get your money back unless the scammers decide to send it back – and that is something they would not be doing any time soon. If you have deposited with MoonFX Trade already but have used any of the other payment methods listed, ask your bank or payment solution provider for assistance – although the chances of retrieving your money are slim, there is still some hope. If you have deposited in crypto, however, your deposits are lost.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK?
If you have enough information about the way such scams work, you will know how to protect yourself against them so read the following text carefully.
It all starts with you seeing a flashy ad on the Internet promising you immense riches – you take one look at a broker’s website and decide that it looks decent enough and that all the promises and claims must be true. Such scammers often manage to convince you that they are legitimate in ingenious ways – they lie about being regulated, provide fake legal documents, draw your attention with amazing offers. So you decide to try your luck and open an account – providing the scammers with your phone number and email in the process.
After that you would not be left alone before you make a deposit – you receive dozens of calls and emails from smooth-talking scammers whose very job is to pray on unsuspecting people who are trying to turn a quick profit. And once you have deposited, they will keep asking you for more and more money – which you would gladly invest because at that point, you might even be turning a decent profit. However, all of this is lies and manipulations – and you will clearly see that once you try to withdraw your profits. Different reasons why that is impossible will appear – additional taxes, minimum withdrawal limits, previously unmentioned clauses in the Terms and Conditions.
At some point, you will start figuring out that something is wrong – and that is when the scammers will disappear with your money in their pocket.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED?
Accept the fact that such stories rarely end happily with the victim retrieving their money. What you can mostly do is avoid additional problems by changing all banking details you have provided the scammers with, and removing all software they have asked you install. Don’t trust any recovery agents promising to retrieve your money for a fee – this is just another type of scam, often conducted by the same people who initially robbed you.
However, if you have used Visa or MasterCard to deposit , there is a decent chance of getting a chargeback – both card providers allow chargebacks within 540 days of transaction. Reversing wire transfers and payments made via an e-wallet is harder but not impossible – contact your bank or payment solution provider to ask for assistance.
Finally, make sure to notify authorities and share your story with as many people as possible – this way, others will know how to avoid horrid scam like the one you fell victim to.
