Beware! AlfaBTC 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.
AlfaBTC presents itself as a trustworthy broker holding all necessary licences and certifications to legally provide financial services. But experience has taught us that we should not take such assurances on trust. Fact checking shows that AlfaBTC is not at all what it portrays itself to be. Let’s look at the clues that show AlfaBTC is nothing more than yet another online scam.
ALFABTC REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
The most important information about a financial services provider is its regulatory status. Licensed brokers provide detailed information about which company runs them, where it is based, which jurisdictions it is authorised in and which regulatory bodies oversee its activities. Genuine brokers also provide access to a comprehensive set of legal documentation.
We do not find an owner company name on the AlfaBTC website. There is no address or contact phone number. The only document that can be found on the website is a generic Terms of Use, which does not mention a legal entity or jurisdiction.
AlfaBTC claims that its legitimacy as a broker stems from being a “functional consumer trading branch of a three-way conglomerate of some of the most respected and recognized corporate crypto trading firms on the planet.”
AlfaBTC also states that in this capacity it provides customers with “protection by three different financial regulatory commissions, namely Finansinspektionen – Sweden, Financial Conduct Authority – UK, Canadian Securities Administrators – Canada”.
There are quite a few problems with these claims. First, we find no evidence whatsoever of any connection between AlfaBTC’s website and these companies, nor of the existence of a “tripartite conglomerate” between these companies.
To provide brokerage services in these regulated jurisdictions, the brand and domain must be registered and authorised by the relevant regulators. AlfaBTC cannot be found in the databases of these institutions.
AlfaBTC could not have such a licence to operate in the UK because the Financial Conduct Authority prohibits trading in crypto derivatives, which AlfaBTC presents as its core business.
In addition to all of this, the institution that regulates brokers in Canada is not the Canadian Securities AdministratorsA, but the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
Elsewhere on the website we find the claim that AlfaBTC holds a certificate from the “Crypto Conduct Authority”, a completely fictitious institution.
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 Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) or Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.
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.
ALFABTC TRADING SOFTWARE
On the AlfaBTC website we do not find any information about the most important tool for forex and CFD trading – the software. We were unable to ascertain whether account registration provides access to any trading software because registration requires a reference code.
Legitimate brokers provide an easy option to register a demo account. Requiring a reference code is something we have only seen in fraudulent schemes that attract potential victims by fishing on social networks and online forums.
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.
ALFABTC TRADING CONDITIONS
Another sign that AlfaBTC is a scam is the fact that it does not provide clear information about the terms of the trade it offers. All we find on the website is a statement that AlfaBTC charges a “very nominal trading fee” without any further elaboration.
The descriptions of account types on the AlfaBTC website lack information on basic trading parameters such as spreads and leverage. Only a ridiculously high minimum deposit of 10 000 EUR is specified. By comparison, the minimum deposit at most licensed brokers rarely exceeds 100 EUR/USD/GBP. Some leading brands even allow you to start trading with amounts as low as 10 USD.
ALFABTC DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
According to the FAQ section, deposits and withdrawals are possible through credit cards and the Skrill and Neteller electronic methods. But we had no way of confirming whether this is true. Fraudsters of this type rarely use conventional payment methods. Instead, they direct their potential victims to cryptocurrencies or shady payment processors. This deprives the defrauded of the opportunity to request a refund or chargeback.
AlfaBTC states that it charges a fee for each withdrawal after the first. But again, the amount and associated terms of the fees are not specified.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK
Trading in financial instruments is a risky business even for experienced investors using the services of reliable brokers. For newcomers, there is also the risk of being deceived by the many scam websites posing as brokerages. These websites are operated by skilled and cunning scammers who lure you with promises of easy profits. Usually these scammers promise to take care of all the bits and pieces of investment for you, but many even use real trading platforms to fool you that your money is really being invested. After investing an initial low amount, they will convince you that you are already making incredible profits and urge you to invest more.
But your money is not invested and you will never see the promised returns. When you ask to withdraw even a portion of your money, you will be surprised by impossible to meet minimum trading volume requirements and hidden fees that amount to tens of percentages of your funds. Scammers hide behind fake names and offshore companies that are uncontrolled and unregulated, so it will be impossible to hold them accountable.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED
If you find yourself in a similar situation, you can request a chargeback. However, this option is only possible if you have used a credit or debit card for the transactions. Visa and MasterCard allow this to be done within 540 days. But if you have provided the scammers with proof of identity, such as an ID or proof of address, these claims can be disputed. Bank wire transfer or cryptocurrency transactions are non-refundable.
In any case, you should inform the relevant authorities in your country about the activities of the scammers and warn other potential victims online. You should not trust offers to return your money for an upfront fee. This is also a known scam and all testimonials from satisfied customers are fake.
