Beware! ACAInvestCorporation 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.
ACAInvestCorporation tries to act like a reputable firm and pretends to be licensed however the truth happens to be just the opposite. This broker uses other company’s legal data and license number just as it can outwit uninformed traders. In fact however ACAInvestCorporation doesn’t hold a forex license and operates against the law.
It also offers very risky leverage of 1:100 which on top of that is against the rules in Singapore, where this broker claims to be based. This is one more indication that it just can’t be regulated. What’s more ACAInvestCorporation requires a promo code in order to register which is yet another red light for scam. For more details on why you shouldn’t trust ACAInvestCorporation keep reading the following lines.
Regulation and safety of funds
Let’s start from the very beginning – ACAInvestCorporation claims its registered address to be in Singapore and displays an email and two phone numbers – one based in Singapore and the other one – in the UK.
However, taking a closer look at this website we couldn’t help but notice some very disturbing facts about this broker. Sure, it tries to act like a reputable firm and might convince some unwitting traders, however there are some scam signs we can spot a mile away. For example there are some worrisome details in its trading conditions that are against the forex requirements in Singapore. It also claims to be regulated and even displays a license document by the local regulator – the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The problem here is that this document belongs to ACA Investments PTE. LTD. We checked the latter and it turned out that it has a completely different website and domain and it certainly has nothing to do with the broker we are reviewing here. What’s more, the name of ACA Investments PTE. LTD. isn’t mentioned anywhere on the website we are dealing with.
It’s already clear that ACAInvestCorporation misuses not only the legal details of another genuine firm, but also its address and phone number. For this reason ACAInvestCorporation happens to be completely anonymous, as we don’t know its true location, contact details or who exactly stays behind this site.
Furthermore, we searched the registers of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) but there was no data related to ACAInvestCorporation. Take a look:
As you see, this broker is obviously not to be trusted. And even though it tries to pass itself off as a reliable company that protects your funds and personal information, we just didn’t buy it. One is for sure – if you deal with such shady, unregulated firms, you won’t get any client protection in case things go wrong.
On the contrary licensed brokers in Singapore must adhere to a large number of rules and guidelines in order to be granted a license and operate legally. For example legitimate brokers in Singapore must meet an impressive minimum capital requirements which range from S$50,000 to S$5 000 000, depending on the types of products offered. Moreover they must also keep their clients’ funds in segregated accounts – this way you can be sure that your money’s safe and sound and won’t be stolen or misused. And even though ACAInvestCorporation also claims to store its customers’ funds apart from its own capital, we have no reason to believe that – don’t forget this broker is totally illegitimate.
Trading software
ACAInvestCorporation mentions that it offers WebTrader as its trading software and gives just some brief details about it. It certainly isn’t enough in order to understand what are the benefits of it or what exactly to expect. What’s more there is no way to preview the platform or to open a demo account. All of these are clear signs of scam. Remember that reputable brokers always display all the essential information beforehand and would never make you register in order to see what platform or trading conditions it offers.
On top of that ACAInvestCorporation requires a promo code in order to register, that’s why we couldn’t open an account with it and can’t confirm what type of trading software it offers. Note however that such a technique is typical for financial scammers – they want to reach out to you via phone or email first in order to bamboozle you. Then they provide you with the promo code so you can register.
Don’t trust such shady firms and better turn to genuine brokers with legit forex licenses who offer advanced platforms like MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5.
MT4 and MT5 are appropriate even for both advanced traders and beginners. You can be assured that the safety of your funds and personal information is granted as all transactions are encrypted as well as your IP address.
You can also choose between a wide range of educational resources, forex news and technical analysis tools. Most of the customers consider the trading bots to be the best part however. These bots, also called Expert Advisors, analyze the forex market in a search of certain conditions and then perform trading operations once they find them.
MT5 and MT4 can be easily downloaded on PCs, smartphones and tablets and have regular updates. Unfortunately, since Apple removed both MetaTrader 4 and 5 from its AppStore, these platforms can’t be downloaded any more from iPhone/ iPad users. All of you that have already installed the apps can continue using them, but without the above-mentioned updates. On the contrary you can still download MT4 and MT5 from Google Play Store.
Trading conditions
ACAInvestCorporation claims to offer several different account types – Silver, Gold, Black, Platinum and VIP. Take a look at some more details about the first three of them:
As you see the minimum deposit with this broker is 250 USD. This is a rather standard amount that most reputable brokers usually ask for. What’s more, micro accounts require around 10 USD.
Apart from that, there is no other useful data on this chart. On its homepage however ACAInvestCorporation mentions that it offers a leverage of 1:100. This is way too high and risky as we have stated many times before. Not to mention that this volume is against the requirements in Singapore, where the leverage is restricted to 1:20 exactly because of the associated risks. We highly advise you to refrain from investing here and to look for a legitimate broker instead. If you still want to trade with higher leverage you can look at some of the offshore subsidiaries of reputable forex brokers.
As for the spread, there is no specific data on the whole website. This broker promises minimum spreads but doesn’t mention anything else and since we couldn’t see its platform we simply don’t know what the truth is. Nevertheless, given the fact that this firm isn’t regulated and lies about so many things so far, we won’t be surprised if it offers high spreads and high trading costs respectively. If you want to really benefit from tight spreads just choose a legitimate broker instead.
Deposit/Withdrawal methods and fees
ACAInvestCorporation claims to accept bank/wire transfer, credit/debit cards and cryptocurrencies as its payment methods. This is the data displayed in its “Deposit/Withdrawal” document, take a look:
However, just don’t trust this broker – it may turn out that it offers only crypto coins like Ethereum or Bitcoin. This is typical for scammers as crypto transactions are completely irreversible so you won’t be able to get your money back no matter what.
How does the scam work
Be very careful to whom you provide your personal information like email or phone number. The moment scammers have your number they will start calling you in an attempt to make you invest right away.
They will most certainly assure you that trading with them is risk-free, which is highly doubtful at least to say. Also be prepared to hear that you can get a fast and incredibly high return on investment – this is also a shameless lie of course. Scammers tend to sweet-talk traders into making a deposit and then vanish like thin air.
Before that however they might try to manipulate their trading software so it looks as if your money is being invested. They might also fool you into believing that your results are very profitable. This is done with one specific purpose – to make you invest even more before you find out that everything is a lie.
Expect all kinds of hidden fees the moment you try to withdraw even a cent and what is the worst part – to find out that a withdrawal is declined no matter what you do.
What to do when scammed
If you have been scammed, the first thing you can do is to turn to the bank that issued your credit or debit card and ask for a chargeback. If you have paid with your Visa/ Mastercard, a chargeback is eligible within 540 days.
Wire transfers are more difficult to return, and the best thing you can do in this situation is to change your online banking username and password as soon as possible.
Using payment methods like Neteller, Paypal or Skrill also gives you the opportunity to open a dispute in case of online scam.
Unfortunately crypto transactions are irreversible as we already stated and therefore your money can not be returned. All in all we advise you not to trust brokers that use only crypto coins such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Last but not least, certainly don’t trust people on the internet offering to return your funds only after you pay a certain fee. They might also be scammers so don’t risk losing more money than you already have!
