Beware! Bid-IV is an offshore broker! Your investment may be at risk.
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Bid-IV is an unregulated broker based in Austria who not only isn’t authorized to offer its services, but also has a warning by the official regulator of Belgium. This firm tries to mislead its customers using the names of reputable financial institutions without actually claiming to be regulated by them. And it really isn’t – Bid-IV doesn’t hold a forex license issued by any authority, therefore operates against the law.
Bid-IV doesn’t specify what trading software you can benefit from leaving its customers no other chance but to register in order to find out. No initial information about its spread either. If all of this isn’t shady enough to turn you down, keep reading for more details on bidiv.com
Regulation and safety of funds
Bid-IV claims to be based at Mannsdorf, Austria and provides email and 24/7 customer support.
In order to offer its forex services in Austria every broker must be regulated by the local Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and Bid-IV can’t be an exception. Of course we searched the registers of FMA but without much success – Bid-IV just doesn’t have a forex license. See for yourself:
In fact Bid-IV doesn’t claim to be regulated by any financial institution right away. In its Accreditations and Licenses section on the website the broker claims that some of the largest international financial organizations guarantee its clients absolute security. Bid-IV goes on listing some financial authorities such as the Security and Investment Commission of Australia (ASIC), the Maltese State Regulator and the State regulator of Belize. Needless to say that Bid-IV has nothing to do with any of them.
Bid-IV also states that it operates under the requirements of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the International Financial Services Commision (IFSC) and the Financial Services Commission of the Republic of Mauritius. We highly doubt this as this broker is not even authorized in its own country where it’s based. We checked the websites of the relevant authorities, but as we expected Bid-IV isn’t regulated by them as well.
It seems things can’t get worse with this broker? Think again! Bid-IV has an official warning by the official regulator of Belgium – the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA). The authority posts a scam alert warning all customers to stay away from certain firms. Take a look:
As you see this broker is as shady as possible, so don’t invest there for your own good!
Trading with a legitimate broker is a whole new ballgame. You can rely on it to handle your personal information in a proper manner and also to keep your funds in safe hands. Not to mention all the trading benefits you can get.
Of course every broker who wishes to be granted a license must meet certain requirements set by the local financial institutions.
As a start, every regulated broker must have an initial net capital – 730 000 for most of the countries in the EU, like Australia, and even more for the rest of the world.
Licensed brokers in Austria are obligated to take part in compensation schemes as well. The same applies for the rest of the countries from the EU and for the UK as well. Being part of such a scheme, guarantees that the client can be issued compensation by the relevant authority in case of broker’s insolvency. The amount varies – up to 20 000 EUR for most of the countries in the EU such as Austria. In addition the amount in the UK goes up to 85 000 GBP.
You can be calm that your investment is safe, as all genuine brokers must keep their clients’ funds in segregated accounts apart from their own capital. This is a guarantee that your money won’t be stolen or misused.
Trading software
Apart from its claims to offer an innovative trading software, Bid-IV doesn’t mention anything else about it.
Sadly, our attempt to open an account on Bid-IV’s website failed, as its registration form doesn’t seem to work and just doesn’t respond at all. We don’t know the reason for this malfunction, but it results in our inability to say for sure what type of platform Bid-IV actually offers.
Bear in mind that such scam firms like Bid-IV usually use very insufficient trading platforms which can’t contribute to your trading very much. Reputable brokers on the other hand usually offer more sophisticated software such as the industry standard MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5.
Most reputable brokers usually rely on more sophisticated trading platforms like MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. They are proven to be the best piece of software for trading purposes nowadays and have been downloaded by millions of people so far.
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 happen to be the most popular trading platforms around the world. Both brokers and traders praise them for a good reason, mainly because of how secure and stable they are. You can always rely on them to execute your orders promptly and efficiently. Not only that but all the essential information such as transactions and your IP address is encrypted.
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 have some outstanding features but the best one according to traders are the Expert Advisors. These bots have one particular task – to search for certain conditions and to start trading the moment they find them. A truly unique feature that only MT4 and MT5 can brag about.
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are perfect for beginners as well for more advanced traders. You can keep your knowledge up to date with a variety of educational resources and daily forex news. They are also very easy to navigate – you don’t need any previous experience in order to use them. MT4 and MT5 can be downloaded on different devices like PCs, smartphones and tablets.
Unfortunately not long ago Apple removed both of them from its AppStore so MT4 and MT5 can’t be downloaded on Android devices anymore. We really hope this measure is temporary. As for the users that have already downloaded the app, they can continue using it but without any future updates or upgrades. MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 can still be installed through Google Play Store.
Trading conditions
Bid-IV claims to offer three different types of accounts – Beginner, Amateur and Expert.
The Beginner account requires a minimum deposit of 1000 USD and suggests a leverage of 1:20. There’s no data about the spread however.
Now, as for the minimum deposit Bid-IV asks for, 1000 USD is too much of initial investment, given the fact that most licensed brokers normally accept around 250 USD.
In addition the leverage which Bid-IV offers seems fine and on point, as it meets the requirements in the EU. Note that there’s a leverage cap of 1:30 in Austria and the European Union in general because of the associated risk of trading with higher levels of leverage. Nevertheless, the fact that Bid-IV offers a leverage which is acceptable, doesn’t make this broker reputable or whatsoever. Remember that it has a warning issued by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).
As for its Amateur account it offers a leverage of 1:50 and an initial deposit of 25 000 USD, both of which exceed the standard amount in the EU.
If you still are willing to take the chance and trade with high leverage, best choose some of the offshore subsidiaries of reputable forex brokers here.
Moreover Bid-IV doesn’t specify what spread it offers – a very essential information for every trader, no matter a novice or experienced one. And since we couldn’t register we can’t say for sure what the spread is with this broker.
Keep in mind that any spread higher than 2 pips is certainly going to be more costly in comparison to a spread lower than 2 pips. To sum things up, any spread between 1 and 2 pips is considered favorable for trading as it comes with lower trading costs, so you better stick to it.
Deposit/Withdrawal methods and fees
Bid-IV also doesn’t specify which payment methods it accepts. But we won’t be surprised if the only possible payment is crypto transactions.
Remember that scammers want to achieve two things – first to make you invest as much as you can and second – to prevent you from getting your money back. Crypto currencies are one way to do the second thing, as these transactions are absolutely irreversible. No matter what you try you can’t over turn the process. Paying with crypto coins like Bitcoin or Ethereum is also proven to be anonymous as you don’t know for sure to whom the wallet belongs. And you can’t rely on any financial authority to get your back, as these scam firms are not regulated as we already said.
Reputable brokers usually accept crypto transactions alongside other payment methods such as the traditional Visa/Mastercard and popular e-wallets like Skrill, Paypal and Neteller. With credit/debit cards you have the opportunity to file for a chargeback, while with e-wallets you can always open a dispute, that’s why a lot of the traders prefer these payment options.
How does the scam work
Never underestimate online scammers as they happen to be unexpectedly inventive and come up with different ideas on how to deceive people literally every day. Most importantly, remember that offshore brokers don’t have any intention to actually invest your money and don’t care about your prosperity. Their only goal is to make you invest as much as you can and then drop out of sight completely (with your money of course). There are some techniques that are a red flag, so if you come across them, just flee as fast as you can.
Firstly, scammers would try to reach out to you via email or phone, so providing such information carefree is not a good idea. If they succeed in getting this material however do expect a lot of phone calls and emails that contain their promise to double your investment – “risk-free” indeed.
They might also guarantee a very high return on investment without any hard work from your side. This sounds ridiculous already – any investment on the forex market holds more or less risk and requires some knowledge. In fact regulated brokers are obligated to post a warning about trading risks on their websites.
The next step in scammers` fraudulent practice is to manipulate their trading software and make it look as if your funds are being invested and you make huge profits at the same time. This is also a lie with no doubt. Scammers just want to make you invest a “little more” again and again and will take advantage of you as much as they can.
They might also offer some kind of welcome bonus just to make you get in the game. Note that such bonuses come with strings attached – a very high volume requirement you certainly won’t be able to achieve. Not only that but reputable brokers in the EU are restricted from offering such bonuses or promotions exactly because of this malicious practice.
Unfortunately most people realize that all of the above is a lie when it’s too late. Once you try to withdraw any funds from your account you will find out that this is impossible. First however scammers might ask for a certain fee upon the withdrawal request – 10% or even 20%. Note that most reputable brokers don’t ask for a fee at all. Anyway, there’s no point in paying this fee, because even if you do, you still won’t be allowed to withdraw your money. Therefore you may end up losing everything.
What to do when scamed
Certainly there are some Dos and Don’ts when it comes to online scam.
Your first move has to be to turn to the bank that issued your credit or debit card in case you paid with one and file for a chargeback in 540 days. If you have used Skrill, Neteller or PayPal you can also open a dispute. Unfortunately crypto transactions are irreversible and anonymous as we already said, so they are not eligible for a chargeback.
It’s also 100% sure that you shouldn’t turn to people on the internet who suggest restoring your stolen funds in exchange for a certain fee. These people are most probably also fraudsters, so don’t take the risk of losing even more money!
