Beware! Authenticoptionstrade.com 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.
Authenticoptionstrade.com is not the best choice you could make when looking for a reliable broker – because this company provides absolutely zero proof of its trustworthiness. The broker is as unlicensed and anonymous as the next scam company, provides no legal documentation, and promises impossibly high returns – all definite signs of a scam. If you trust this broker with your money, you will surely end up scammed.
Authenticoptionstrade.com REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
Authenticoptionstrade.com claims to be based in the US but provides no proof that it is licensed in that country or in any other country for that matter. In terms of company information, all we got from the broker were a few generic paragraphs about how the broker strives to provide the best customer service out there, and how it is an absolute industry leader – in other words, we did not get any essential information about the broke itself or the company behind it.
When we checked the database of the NFA – one of the regulators, along with the CFTC, that deals with licensing and supervising forex brokers in the US – we got zero hits. This means that Authenticoptionstrade.com is not licensed in the US which is hardly surprising – only a handful of brokers can legally offer services in the country due to the strict regulations and requirements that exist.
Turning to a legitimate, licensed broker is of the utmost importance if you want to trade safely and securely. If you trust shady enterprises like Authenticoptionstrade.com you will only end up suffering financial losses.
Brokers regulated in the UK, the EU, and Australia are probably the best, most reliable choice. Such brokers are never anonymous and will always provide you with tons of company information to promote transparency. They answer to some of the strictest financial authorities in the world which means that they have to conduct business in a fair and transparent manner and meet many requirements if they want to remain in business. Minimum capital requirements exist in all of these jurisdictions – €730 000 in the UK and the EU, and A$1 million in Australia. This money serves as proof that the broker is financially stable and here to stay. Client money must be kept in separate bank accounts which ensures that client funds and broker funds would not mix. This proves that your broker would not be able to reinvest your deposits, and keeps your money safe in cases of broker insolvency. In the EU and the UK compensation funds also protect clients in case their broker goes bankrupt – in such cases, your capital would be ensured up to €20 000 in the EU and £85 000 in the UK.
Authenticoptionstrade.com TRADING SOFTWARE
Authenticoptionstrade.com did not allow us to open an account – we were supposed to receive a verification email but such an email never came. This makes us doubt that this broker prefers to pick clients itself which scammers often do. They specifically choose who to open an account for – this way, the scam could be kept under wraps for a longer period of time and the scam broker manages to avoid the unwanted attention of the general public.
If you want to trade on some sort of functional, efficient software that is still easy to use and intuitive, make sure to try MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 – the two most popular platforms in the industry. Both of these platforms offer a wide variety of indicators, graphical objects, timeframes, and other charting and analysis tools as well as features such as Expert Advisors, a Strategy Tester, VPSs, the chance to set signals, or develop custom scripts, etc.
Authenticoptionstrade.com TRADING CONDITIONS
Without access to an account, we could not confirm that the information Authenticoptionstrade.com has provided on its website about trading conditions is accurate. The broker was not extremely clear about its trading conditions anyway – the information we got was scarce. All we learned was that we will be able to trade forex, shares, energies, indices, and cryptocurrencies and that we would have to invest at least $500 in order to open an account with the broker. This price is actually quite big – most legitimate brokers offer affordable basic accounts for $100 or less.
Authenticoptionstrade.com seems to offer another service also, one completely unrelated to forex trading. The broker seems to be running some sort of investment scam. Such scams ask you to invest a small amount of money and promise imposibly high returns in short periods of time. This broker promises 100% return on investment after just 72 hours even on its trial plan – when most retail investors should be happy to get returns of around 15% annually. Scammers never explain how such huge profits are possible without any risks or effort – no legitimate broker would dare promise you guaranteed returns because the financial markets are far too unstable for that. It is clear that the promise of such enormous profits is a trap – any broker who offers such things is clearly a scammer.
Authenticoptionstrade.com DEPOSIT/WITHDRAWAL METHODS AND FEES
Authenticoptionstrade.com states that it only accepts deposits made in Bitcoin or Ethereum. This is quite bothersome since all crypto transactions are irreversible by default. Once completed, they go into a ledger that cannot be changed or tainted at a later point. Such payments are also more or less anonymous – they can always be traced to a certain wallet but not to a person or organization. This means that if you have already transferred money to Authenticoptionstrade.com, you would be able to trace it or get a chargeback – which is exactly what such scammers want. The best protection is to not deposit with scam brokers in the first place.
Authenticoptionstrade.com did not provide us with any sort of legal documentation so we cannot say with certainty what sort of fees and taxes we will be charged at a later point. Always make sure to read the Terms and Conditions carefully and make sure you understand everything. Otherwise, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK?
Such scams are not only becoming more frequent but they are also surprisingly effective – which is why the first and most important step if you want to protect yourself from them, is to understand how they work.
You stumble upon a broker on the Internet – that broker promises to make you a rich, successful trader in no time. You are curious to see what forex brokers are all about – after all, you have heard stories of people becoming rich by trading – and provide the scammers with your phone number and email. After that, you would not be left alone before you have deposited – these people are seasoned scammers and will convince you to transfer money in no time.
This will not be enough though – the broker will keep asking for more and more money, and since scammers often manipulate profits and platforms, you might even be happy to invest because you would be thinking that you are turning a profit.
Once you try to withdraw, however, the problems will start – the broker will start denying withdrawals because of certain clauses in the Terms and Conditions, because of previously unmentioned fees and taxes, etc. At this point, you will find out that there is something wrong going on – but the scammers will be long-gone with your money before you can do anything.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED?
Do not get desperate and do not employ any so-called “recovery agencies” that promise to track down the scammers and retrieve your money for a fee – this is just another type of scam.
What you should do is notify the responsible authorities in your country and contact your bank to let them know that you have been scammed. Change all your banking passwords and remove all remote access software the scammers had you install under false pretenses – they only wanted access to your computer and your banking systems.
If you have deposited with a Visa or MasterCard card, you might be able to retrieve your money – both card providers allow chargebacks within 540 days of the transaction so contact your card issuer as soon as possible.
Finally, make sure to share your story with as many people as possible to let them know that such scams exist and how they work. This way, others can avoid losing their money in the future.
