Beware! SecureCapitals 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.
SecureCapitals wants us to believe that it is “a leading brokerage” that “strives to be the best broker in the cryptocurrencies trading industry”. But even a basic fact-check reveals a different picture – this is a completely anonymous website that has neither the legal authorization nor the technological capacity to offer such services. SecureCapitals is yet another scam website aiming to cash in on the excitement surrounding cryptocurrencies, and therefore must be avoided.
SECURECAPITALS REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
When you visit the website of a legitimate financial services provider you can expect to find clear and detailed information about the company that owns and operates it, where it is based and what regulatory regimes it is subject to.
SecureCapitals does not provide any such information. The home page does not include the name of the legal entity that owns and operates this alleged broker. The only means of communication is email. The Terms and Conditions also do not mention a company name or specify which jurisdiction is relevant.
In the ” Contact Us ” section we find only an incomplete address, which suggests that SecureCapitals is based in London, one of the leading global financial centres.
The lack of a company name or registration number is sufficient evidence that SecureCapitals is not licensed, especially in one of the most heavily regulated jurisdictions. As expected, we could not find anything about “SecureCapitals” and other name variations in the UK Financial conduct Authority (FCA) database. This verification is largely unnecessary because the FCA prohibits the trading of crypto derivatives, which SecureCapitals claims is its core business.
Under no circumstances should you trust your money to such anonymous websites full of false and contradictory information. Instead, you can turn to one of the many companies that really work under the supervision of respected regulatory bodies like FCA or Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). As their customer you will enjoy a number of guarantees including negative balance protection and guarantee for your funds if the broker goes bankrupt, which goes up to EUR 20,000 in EU and 85,000 GBP in the UK. Regulations in the UK and EU include some important measures designed to improve investor protection and promote market integrity and transparency, such as transaction reporting. Regulated brokers are also required to segregate their operational funds from the client’s money.
SECURECAPITALS TRADING SOFTWARE
SecureCapitals promises an “intuitive” web-based trading platform. However, after registering an account, we found that not only does SecureCapitals not have a license, but it also does not have the necessary software to offer trading in financial instruments. In the dashboard we see only a poor imitation of a trading platform – a simple chart with current cryptocurrency prices, taken for free from the data provider TradingView, and non-functional buy and sell buttons.
Legitimate brokers offer clients a wide selection of trading software, including desktop, mobile apps and web-based platforms. The most widely used platforms in the industry are 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.
SECURECAPITALS TRADING CONDITIONS
SecureCapitals claims to offer six types of trading accounts. But the only specific information in the description of these accounts is the minimum deposit of 250 GBP. It would be a much wiser and safer choice to go with a licensed broker. Many leading companies in the industry allow you to start trading with amounts of and below 100 GBP, USD or EUR.
SecureCapitals also claims to offer a welcome bonus. This is further proof that we are dealing with scammers. All the leading regulators, including the FCA, prohibit brokers from using bonuses and promotions. Fake brokers often use supposedly shadowy bonuses to bind their victims to unfavourable terms and huge fees. Nowhere does SecureCapitals describe the terms of the bonuses.
On the homepage, we also see the claim that SecureCapitals offers cryptocurrency trading at 1:5 leverage.
As stated, this type of trading is banned outright in the UK. In the EU and other major markets such as Australia, the maximum leverage allowed when trading cryptocurrencies is 1:2. High leverage creates the opportunity for more significant profit, but correspondingly increases the risk of sudden and excessive losses. All leading regulators therefore restrict leverage for retail traders.
SECURECAPITALS DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
The logos of multiple payment methods can be seen on the main page of the website, including Visa, MasterCard, Neteller, Skrill, WebMoney, QIWI and Yandex Money.
However, there is a single option in the deposit menu, wire transfer, and it requires you to contact an administrator. Wired transfer, like cryptocurrencies, does not allow refunds. These payment methods are therefore preferred by fraudsters.
SecureCapitals does not specify whether it charges deposit and withdrawal fees and how much they are. Experience has shown that such financial scammers always surprise you unpleasantly with hidden fees and exorbitant withdrawal terms.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK
With all the buzz surrounding skyrocketing prices of cryptocurrencies, many people are starting to consider investing in the financial markets as a bid to improve their fortunes. Scammers on the internet have taken notice of that and take advantage of the ignorance of the general public by creating countless websites posing as brokers. These websites offer no real brokerage services and only deceive people into believing that their money is really being invested.
If you come across such a scam website and give out your contacts, you will be contacted by experienced scammers who will convince you that they can take on all the frighteningly complex aspects of investing for you. But you will never get any real profits, nor will you be able to get back the money you deposited. The terms and conditions of these websites are riddled with clauses that make withdrawing funds from your account unfeasible – for example, extremely high minimum trading volume requirements or hefty fees of 10%, 20% or even more of the amount.
Scammers hide behind fake addresses and names and operate through offshore companies that are not subject to regulation and scrutiny. So even if all the withdrawal requirements are met, they may simply disappear and move on to their next fraudulent scheme.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED
It is very important not to rush into trusting people on the internet who offer to magically refund your money for a fee. These are also scammers, and they may even be the same ones who scammed you in the first place.
If you have made the transfers using credit or debit card, you can claim a chargeback. Visa and MasterCard allow this to be done within 540 days. However, such a request may not be approved if you have given the fraudsters documents such as a copy of an ID and proof of address. This will allow them to claim that the transaction is legitimate and approved by both parties.
