Beware! DamkoNET 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.
DamkoNET is one of these brokers who might or might not be an outright scam. Our biggest problem is that this is an unregulated and fairly anonymous offshore company that is based in a country that does not even have a financial regulator. They do offer fairly good conditions and a decent platform – but that is not reason enough to take the risk. This broker might turn out to be completely legitimate – or it might turn out to be an outright scam. We urge you to check some legitimate brokers instead – many of them offer the same or better conditions but are also a completely safe investment choice.
DamkoNET REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
DamkoNET is registered on the Marshal Islands. That is honestly the biggest problem with this broker – they are based in a country that does not even have a financial regulator. Setting up a company there is extremely easy – you can just go on the Internet and register one. You would not even have to visit the country to do so.
It is evident that brokers registered in such offshore locations are far from your best choice – they do not have to meet any requirements and are not obligated to report to authorities. There are also no transaction reporting requirements – which makes all sorts of financial crimes such as money laundering and tax evasion a whole lot easier. Not all brokers based in countries like the Marshal Islands are trying to scam you – in fact, many big brokerages have offshore branches that were created with the purpose of offering better terms to clients. But this is not the case here – DamkoNET is a broker that only operates as an offshore company. They also have not provided a phone number which makes them a lot harder to reach.
If you want to trade safely, turn to an actually regulated company – perhaps the best choice would be a broker who has a license by the FCA (the UK), CySEC (Cyprus), or ASIC (Australia). A license by these authorities is not easy to obtain – brokers have to meet countless requirements, report transactions regularly, and do everything by the book. Maintaining a certain minimum capital is mandatory – €730 000 in the UK and the EU, and A$1 million in Australia. Client funds must be kept in segregated accounts and negative balance protection is a must – so you could never lose more money than you have in your account at the time. UK and EU brokers also have to participate in compensation funds – in the unlikely event of your broker going bankrupt, you could receive a compensation of up to €20 000 in the EU and up to £85 000 in the UK.
DamkoNET TRADING SOFTWARE
DamkoNET offers access to a quite decent web-based trading platform:
The software offered a good charting and analysis package as well as social trading opportunities and one-click trading. All in all, this software would be fairly convenient for someone who is just starting their trading journey because it is accessible and easy to use.
However, a platform like the industry-favorite MetaTrader 5 has a lot more to offer you. This advanced software provides for a far better trading experience. It is still fairly easy to use but the features you would be getting access to are endless. From Expert Advisors that track markets and trade automatically and a Strategy Tester to a community chat, a built-in economic calendar, and a market for additional trading apps – MT5 truly has it all. Do not hesitate to try out the platform with one of the many licensed brokers who offer it.
DamkoNET TRADING CONDITIONS
DamkoNET offers reasonable trading conditions and access to a decent range of markets – forex, cryptos, commodities, indices, and stocks. In order to open an account, you would have to deposit at least $250 which is what most legitimate brokers would ask for as well. Check our list of brokers offering Micro accounts for under $10.
The maximum leverage this broker provides access to is 1:100. Offshore brokers are free to offer any leverage they see fit – which is why it is up to you to be careful with your leverage settings. Trading with rates higher than you can handle can lead to huge losses, especially if you do not have the necessary knowledge and experience yet. That is why we urge you to set your leverage lower if you are a beginner trader. If you are, however, more experienced, check out some great brokers who can legally offer leverage of 1:100.
The spreads we got with DamkoNET were around 1.5 pips on EURUSD. This is right around the industry average – not impressive but certainly not terrible. Some legitimate brokers like XM and OctaFX can, however, offer much lower rates – around 1 pip.
DamkoNET DEPOSIT AND WITHDRAWAL METHODS AND FEES
DamkoNET only accepts credit and debit card deposits and does not charge any deposit or withdrawal fees. That is great news – if this broker turns out to be a scammer, you could easily get a chargeback. Both Visa and MasterCard allow such chargebacks within 540 days of the transaction so if something goes wrong and you start suspecting that the broker is playing a trick on you, contact your card provider as soon as possible to see what can be done.
DamkoNET also charges a standard dormant account fee of $30 after 12 months of no trading activity.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK?
Read the following paragraphs carefully – such scams have become quite the industry in recent years which is why it is important to know how they work in order to protect yourself from them.
It all starts innocently enough – you see an ad on the Internet for a broker who promises you fast, secure returns and entry into a life of luxury. Maybe you have heard about people earning a month’s pay by trading – so you decide to check out the website, and set up an account. After all, there is no harm in seeing what the company has to offer – and those promises are often extremely attractive. The moment you give the scammers your phone number or email, they will constantly be trying to get in touch with you and make you invest. Keep in mind that these are professional scammers so they can be very convincing. Once you have made your first deposit – and if they don’t run off with your money immediately – the scammers will ask you for bigger and bigger deposits. And you will gladly transfer this money since you will probably be turning a profit – on a manipulated platform.
Once you try to withdraw, however, you will run into trouble – the broker will make up reasons why this cannot happen – be it additional taxes, or shady clauses in the Terms and Conditions. At some point, you will figure out something is wrong – but the broker will be long-gone by then. Don’t count on them returning any of your calls.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED?
Keep in mind that, sadly, there is not a big chance of you getting your money back. There are, however, some things you can do – and hope for the best.
Firstly, change all the passwords and banking details you have given the scammers access to. If you have given them remote access to your computer, remove the software immediately.
If you have deposited using Visa or MasterCard, file for a chargeback – both card providers try to fight scams and allow such chargebacks within 540 days. Retrieving money if you have used a wire transfer, or an electronic payment solution is much harder – but still, contact your bank or payment method provider to see if anything can be done.
Notify authorities, and share your story online and in your acquaintance circle – this way, more people will know about such scams and try to stay away from them.
Finally, don’t trust any “recovery agents” promising to hunt down the scammers and retrieve your money for a fee – this is just another type of scam.
