Beware! Litsfxtrades21 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.
Litsfxtrades21 wants us to believe that this is a trustworthy broker through which we can invest in all kinds of assets, but primarily cryptocurrencies. But this is a trap designed for people without any experience and knowledge of financial markets. Because even a superficial inspection shows that this website is extremely suspicious. Litsfxtrades21 gives us absolutely no good reason to trust it with our money. On the contrary, it gives us reasons to stay as far away as possible.
LITSFXTRADES21 REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
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. On all these indicators, Litsfxtrades21’s website fails.
Nowhere can the name of the company that owns and operates this alleged broker be found. The Terms and conditions constitute a generic text of several paragraphs that does not include any specific information – and therefore does not meet the standards for such legal documentation.
The home page lists a US address but with a UK area code phone number.
However, the “About Us” section claims that the unnamed company is based in Australia:
These are all highly regulated jurisdictions where such an anonymous website could not legally provide financial services. We find evidence of this on the website of the UK regulator Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The institution warns that Litsfxtrades21 is not authorised:
If you intend to invest in financial instruments, you should beware of the many fake brokers lurking online. Always check carefully whether the broker you choose really has the necessary licences. There are numerous benefits to working with a company that is truly authorised and supervised by a regulatory institution such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in US, Australian Securities and Exchanges Commission (ASIC), UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or some EU regulator like Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
Clients of these brokers receive protections such as negative balance protection and segregation of the client’s funds from the broker’s funds. In the EU and the UK, brokers must also participate in guarantee schemes that cover a certain amount of the trader’s investment if the broker becomes insolvent. These guarantees amount to up to 20 000 EUR in the EU and 85 000 GBP in the UK. However, the likelihood of such a bankruptcy is low because regulators also have significant net capital requirements that companies must maintain – EUR 730 000 in UK and Cyprus, AUD 1000 000 in Australia and at least 20 million USD in the United States.
LITSFXTRADES21 TRADING SOFTWARE
The Litsfxtrades21 website doesn’t even mention the most important tool for trading financial instruments – software. Account registration does not give us access to a trading platform. This shows that Litsfxtrades21 not only lacks a licence, but also lacks the technical capacity to offer the services it claims.
If you use the services of a licensed broker, you will get the opportunity to use established software with advanced features and versions for all types of devices and operating systems. 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.
LITSFXTRADES21 TRADING CONDITIONS
True forex brokers offer a variety of trading account types tailored to the needs of clients with different capital and investment intentions. These brokers also provide clear and detailed information on trading parameters – leverage, spread, commissions, order execution method, etc.
This is another thing that is missing from the Litsfxtrades21 website. Instead, we see a list of plans to invest in cryptocurrency mining – something that has nothing to do with Litsfxtrades21’s stated activities.
The minimum “investment” is 250 USD. For that amount you could open an account with almost any licensed broker in the world and start actual trading. Many leading brands offer Micro accounts with an even lower initial deposit.
LITSFXTRADES21 DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
When we open Litsfxtrades21’s deposit menu we see three options – the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as the payment processor Skrill. However, if we select the last option we get an error message.
Cryptocurrencies as the only available payment method is one of the typical characteristics of financial fraud. Scammers prefer cryptocurrencies because these transactions are not subject to refunds. While there are some legitimate brokers that accept digital currencies like Bitcoin, they do so alongside other transparent payment methods such as credit/debit card, bank transfer or popular e-wallets like PayPal, Neteller or Sofort.
Legitimate brokers rarely charge transaction fees. But Litsfxtrades21 charges, and charges high ones – 1 USD plus 1% for deposit and 25 USD plus 2.25% for withdrawal.
Due to the lack of proper legal documentation, we don’t know what other hidden fees this fake broker might surprise you with.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK
Many people are looking for ways to make money passively, but do not have the necessary knowledge to invest in the financial markets themselves. This makes them a target for the many online scammers posing as brokers. If you come across some of them and give them your contacts, you will be contacted by skilled scam artists who will assure you that they can take on the incomprehensible aspects of investing for you. You will only be required to invest and take profits.
But when you try to collect even just a fraction of your money, it will turn out to be impossible. Your supposed profits will suddenly evaporate, or you’ll find that you have to meet impossible traded volume requirements first. Fraudsters often insert huge withdrawal fees into client agreements amounting to 10%, 20% or even more. You won’t be able to hold scammers accountable because they hide behind fake names and shell-companies offshore. Scammers also typically use non-refundable payment methods.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED
First of all, you should be very careful not to fall straight into the clutches of other scammers. Another common scam is to promise money recoveries from fake brokers for an upfront fee.
If you used a credit or debit card for the transactions, you can charge a chargeback. Visa and MasterCard have a long period in which they allow such requests – 540 days. But keep in mind that fraudsters can dispute if you have provided them with a copy of your ID and proof of address. It would also be helpful if you alerted the authorities in your country and other people online to the activities of the scammers.
