Beware! 24FX is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.

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24FX, or 24eurofx, does not give us any good reason to believe the claims that it is “leading online brokerage firm”. This website looks strikingly similar to many fake brokers we have encountered. But even if you haven’t come across any similar scammers, it’s not hard to determine that 24FX is just that. This website is completely anonymous and in no way has the necessary legal authorization to offer the services it claims.

24FX REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS

The first big red flag is that it is a complete mystery who is behind this website. Nowhere is the name of the company that owns and operates this supposed broker mentioned. 24FX claims that it is a part of a holding group that  “operates under the authorization and regulation of different licenses” – but does not specify jurisdiction or regulatory authority.

Only in the “Contact us” section do we find an address – 24FX claims to be based in Cyprus. For this to be true, one broker must be authorized by  Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). This regulator has a dedicated search engine for the approved domains of authorised financial services providers. The domain used by 24FX is not listed there.

We also do not find proper legal documentation on the website as required by brokers operating in the European Union. Only the account registration form has a link to the Terms and Conditions. But this document is extremely brief and devoid of any specific information. So we know neither who is behind 24FX nor what terms it offers.

If you intend to invest in the financial markets, you should at all costs avoid the many anonymous fraudulent websites posing as brokers. Instead, it is advisable to approach one of the licensed brokers that are truly regulated by institutions such as CySEC.

There are many advantages to working with such brokers because they must comply with all the requirements of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ЕSМА). They must maintain a minimum net capital of at least EUR 730 000, which guarantees that the company is financially stable and has a serious long-term approach. When clients deposit money in their trading accounts, they are kept segregated from the broker’s operating funds in separate bank accounts. Thus the clients’ money remains shielded in case of mishaps like a broker’s bankruptcy. All brokers licensed in Cyprus are members of the Investor Compensation Fund, which may cover a maximum of EUR 20,000 per person in the event of broker insolvency. Cypriot forex brokers are required to report their clients’ transactions on a regular basis. This requirement is designed to improve investor protection and promote market integrity and transparency.

24FX TRADING SOFTWARE

The description of trading account types claims that 24FX offers the two most popular trading platforms among brokers worldwide – MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). However, after registering an account we get access to a web platform that is not the web version of MetaTrader:

While the platform has the basic features for placing orders, customizing charts and application of technical indicators, it lacks the more advanced functionality found in MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). These platforms have established themselves as industry standard because they offer a wide range of features, including a variety of options for customization, multiple account usage, designing and implementing custom scripts for automated trading and backtesting trade strategies.

In addition, an installation file for a supposed desktop terminal can be downloaded from the 24FX  website. This installation file is many times larger than the MetaTrader files and lacks any information about the software publisher. We have every reason to believe this is malware, which is why we complied with the operating system’s warnings and did not install it. We advise you to do the same.

24FX TRADING CONDITIONS

It is quite obvious that 24FX are scammers and do not offer genuine trade. But the terms and conditions described on the website provide further evidence that this could not be a legitimate broker licensed in Cyprus.

24FX claims to offer three account types – Mirco, Auto and Premium. A leverage between 1:500 and 1:1000 is indicated. Regulated brokers do not offer such levels to retail traders as trading with high leverage carries risks of sudden and excessive losses. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and accordingly all EU regulators limit leverage to 1:30 for major currency pairs and even lower levels for more volatile assets.

24FX also allegedly offers bonuses, which is also prohibited for brokers in the EU. Nowhere do we find a specific description of these bonuses. This is concerning because scammers of this type regularly use supposedly generous bonuses to tie withdrawals to huge fees and impossible-to-fulfil conditions.

The stated minimum deposit is only 5 USD, but this should not tempt you. There are many licensed brokers that also allow you to start trading with token amounts.

24FX DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES

On the website we see the logos of popular payment methods such as PayPal, Skrill, and Neteller. However, the only option to deposit funds requires you to submit your credit/debit card details.

No transaction fees or additional withdrawal terms are stated, but this does not guarantee that you will not be unpleasantly surprised with detrimental terms if you try to withdraw your money from this anonymous website.

HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK

Unfortunately, the internet is full of scammers. In the age of cryptocurrencies, many of them pretend to be brokers and take advantage of people’s desire to get rich easily through financial instruments they don’t really understand.

Fake brokerage sites lure you in with promises to take on all the difficult and confusing aspects of investing for you. If you make contact with such sites, they will first convince you to make a small, “risk-free” investment of a few hundred dollars. Experienced scammers will then begin to persuade you to “invest” more and more money, and will even deceive you into believing that your initial investment is generating incredible profits.

But you will never see those profits or the money you deposited. These scammers hide behind fake names and offshore shell companies that are not subject to oversight and regulations like regulated brokers. They use cryptocurrencies or other shady payment methods that make refunding money difficult or often impossible. The terms and conditions of these sites are riddled with pitfalls that block withdrawals with impossible-to-fulfill conditions for minimum traded volume and extremely high fees reaching 10, 20 or more percent of the amount.

WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED

If you find yourself in such a situation, you should be very careful not to fall into the clutches of other fraudsters while trying to recover your money. Offers from people on the internet who promise to get you your money back from scammers for an upfront fee are also one hundred percent scammers.

If you used a credit or debit card for the transactions to the scammers, there is some chance you can get your money back by requesting a chargeback. Visa and MasterCard allow this to be done within 540 days. But such a claim can be challenged if you have provided the scammers with documents such as a copy of your ID and proof of address.

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