Beware! FtmoPipsTrade 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.
FtmoPipsTrade presents itself as a broker that can provide you with “stable, reliable, guaranteed weekly income”. No forex broker could promise you guaranteed income. On the contrary, licensed brokers are obliged to warn about the risks involved in trading financial instruments. But FtmoPipsTrade is not a licensed broker – it’s a scam, part of a long line of almost identical con websites, such as ApexSignal and Kionfxtrade. But even if you haven’t come across other incarnations of this fraudulent scheme, it’s very easy to figure out that FtmoPipsTrade is not what it claims to be. Let’s see exactly how.
FTMOPIPSTRADE REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
The first and clearest sign that we are dealing with scammers is the absolute anonymity of FtmoPipsTrade. When you visit the website of a legitimate broker 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. Licensed financial services providers are also required to provide a comprehensive set of legal documentation.
None of this is present on the FtmoPipsTrade website. A partial address is given, supposedly located in the U.K. The same address has been used by dozens of fake brokers, including those mentioned above.
To operate in the UK, a broker must be authorised by the Financial conduct Authority (FCA). The lack of legal entity name or reference number is sufficient indication that the FtmoPipsTrade does not have such a licence. As to be expected, we find nothing about ” FtmoPipsTrade” in the FCA database.
In the “About Us” section, we find an image of a purported business license to operate in the United States. This obviously fake document also does not mention a company name, only the brand.
FtmoPipsTrade is not listed among the National Futures Association (NFA) members, which is mandatory to offer such financial services in the US.
If you want to trade on financial markets without being scammed, you can turn to some of the legitimate brokers that actually operate from established financial hubs like the UK. These brokers have to meet stringent requirements for financial stability and transparency of operations imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority. They must provide clients with negative balance protection and to participate in a guarantee fund that covers up to GBP 85,000 of a client’s investment should the broker go into insolvency. These brokers are also required to keep their clients’ money segregated from their own operating funds in separate bank accounts.
FTMOPIPSTRADE TRADING SOFTWARE
Like the other scam websites in the same series, FtmoPipsTrade promises a very advanced trading platform, but doesn’t actually have any trading software. FtmoPipsTrade is obviously a low-effort scam targeting people without any experience and knowledge in the field of forex trading.
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.
FTMOPIPSTRADE TRADING CONDITIONS
FtmoPipsTrade claims to offer forex, indices, shares, commodities and cryptocurrency trade. But no description of the terms of trade can be found on the website. But this doesn’t really matter, as the FtmoPipsTrade does not have the necessary software or legal authorisation to offer such services.
When signing up for an account, a choice must be made between four “plans” promising incredibly high returns. The minimum deposit for these plans is 100 USD, but the website states that the minimum deposit is 500 USD. In any case, it would be wiser to use the services of a licensed broker. Many leading brands in the industry allow you to start trading with amounts even lower than 100 USD.
The only trading parameter mentioned on the website is leverage up to 1:1000 for forex and 1:100 for cryptocurrencies. This in itself indicates that FtmoPipsTrade could not be a genuine broker operating in the US or the UK. In these jurisdictions, the maximum leverage allowed for retail traders is 1:50 and 1:30 respectively. Trading with high leverage allows higher profits, but also increases the risk of sudden and excessive losses proportionally. The FCA does not allow trading in crypto derivatives at all.
FTMOPIPSTRADE DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
On the homepage we see the logos of various cryptocurrencies as well as the Hong Kong payment provider PerfectMoney But the FAQ section clearly states that deposits and withdrawals are only made via cryptocurrencies.
Scammers prefer cryptocurrencies because these transactions are not subject to refunds. While there are some legitimate brokers that accept Bitcoin, and other digital currency, they do so alongside other transparent payment methods such as credit/debit card, bank transfer or popular e-wallets like PayPal, Neteller or FasaPay.
Since FtmoPipsTrade does not provide proper legal documentation, it is unclear what traps the fraudsters may have set. Typically, fake brokers make withdrawing money impossible through huge fees and impossible-to-fulfill traded volume conditions.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK
Stories of people getting rich from cryptocurrencies tempt many to try their luck in the financial markets. But you have to be very careful not to fall into the clutches of the many scammers lurking in the online space. These scammers only pose as brokers and lure you in with promises to take on the confusing aspects of investing for you.
If you make contact with such scammers they will first convince you to give them a small initial sum of a few hundred dollars. They may even fool you for a while that your investment is generating incredible profits to convince you to give them a larger amount. But your money won’t really be invested. And when you try to withdraw your supposed profits or even your deposit, you will find that it is impossible.
The scammers may tell you that all your investments have been lost by a sudden change in the market. Or they’ll point you to clauses hidden in their Terms and Conditions that say withdrawing your money is only possible after you meet impossibly high minimum trading volume requirements. And they can simply disappear because these scam sites hide behind fake names and offshore companies that are not subject to rules and regulations.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED
If you find yourself a victim of scammers, you should inform the relevant authorities in your country and spread the word online to warn other potential victims. However, the chances of getting your money back are not high.
If you used a credit/debit card for the transactions, you could ask for a chargeback. However, such requests can be disputed if you have provided the fraudsters with proof of identity such as a copy of an ID. Under no circumstances should you trust people on the internet who claim they can recover your money for an upfront fee. These too are certainly scammers.
