Beware! UTrade Markets 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.
UTrade Markets is a full embodiment of the modern offshore broker, for it looks like 80% of all scammers we review. In fact, UTrade Markets is unlicensed and a great risk to all users and their money. So, read the review to find out all about this broker and its implications.
UTRADE MARKETS REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
Let’s get something straight here. The only legal claim here is that UTrade Markets is a fully incorporated broker in Mauritius, both registered there and regulated by the Mauritius Financial Services Commission. That would make this broker an offshore entity regulated by a solid offshore license issuer. Were it the case.
But the truth is that UTrade Markets is not regulated by the regulated by the Financial Services Commission. We went straight to the site of the regulator to find any proof of a regulation and found no results for one UTrade Markets. So, it’s all a big lie. In other words, UTrade Markets is not regulated in Mauritius, and the only way it can be registered there is if its incorporated illegally in the country.
To make matters even worse, the firm presents absolutely no legal documents, so without any legal papers UTrade Markets can literally do whatever it wants, and there is no way to stop it from doing harm to users. So this is the last straw.
UTrade Markets is completely unregulated and a scam to all. The firm is a risk, and a waste of your time.
Think about it for a second. An unregulated broker is free to do whatever it wants, with very few repercussions, for the time being. Unlicensed brokers are in a constant rush to steal as much money as they can get their greedy hands on, and then eradicate all traces of their existence, until they pop up as a different scam under another name. It’s the scammer cycle. Investing in any unregulated broker is a risk and it will always be a risk.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have your legal and regulated brokers, those that actually have put countless efforts and manhours into crafting the best version of their vision for an FX broker. We recommend the top of the top, those located and regulated in any European, UK, US, or Australian jurisdiction, but clients should not underrate some offshore regulators as well. Regulated brokers stick to scrupulous regulations and rules whose point is to make sure that all users are treated equally and that there is no shady business going on.
Make sure to check for a license each time you stumble, whether by accident or on purpose, on a new broker.
UTRADE MARKETS TRADING SOFTWARE
We noticed that there was a fully available MT5 but the broker was way too shady to trust it with the MT5 file, considering that many scammers attach their malwares to the MT5.
Yes, the MT5 is here, but the broker is way too risky to be used. So, instead, for our readers, here’s a treat of some great MT5 based brokers to focus their attention to.
UTRADE MARKETS TRADING CONDITIONS
We were able to register very easily, meaning the broker is in a rush to scam you, a classic move. So, all trading details are taken from the website.
The leverage has been capped at 1:500, as well as a 1.5 average pip spread. This leverage is very clear and good, but the broker is shady meaning that it isn’t worth it. Instead, look to these high leverage brokers.
The available assets are forex currency pairs, commodities, indices, stocks, and cryptocurrencies.
These are great trading conditions, but let us just remind you that the broker is a scam and unlicensed.
UTRADE MARKETS DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
In the client portal, we clearly see that the payment methods are credit cards, debit cards, Match2Pay, some sort of unrevealed crypto payment method, and bank transfer. The same payment methods, more or less, are used for withdrawals. The minimum deposit in the client portal is just $1, however the site states to be $1000, which is a ridiculous difference. In much the same air, the site contradicts the client area most of the time.
Low minimum deposit brokers are great and the whole new fad of the industry. Only make sure that the firm you are using is regulated.
Apparently there are no deposit or withdrawal fees, which is a statement that we really do not trust. To make matters worse, in the legal docs we read about a ton of fees, including VAT taxes, storage charges, deliver fees, clearing house commissions, contract fees, and client-broker relationship maintenance fees. There are other fees and commissions none of which has been revealed, making the whole ordeal a risk to deal with. This is just one of the many reasons why you should not trust UTrade Markets. The broker is a risk to all.
How does the scam work
It’s crazy to think that the scammer process has been the same for years now, probably more than a decade at the least. It follows the same principles that have not changed over the years, but only adapted to modern tendencies, such as the crypto boom, NFTs, fin influencers, the metaverse, and more.
The phalanx of the scammers, the proverbial spear with which they lead the charge , has always been either misleading ads or direct solicitation over the phone, preferably, or via email or social media channels. Here scammer have evolved over the years to sound more convincing and to include increasing more tempting opportunities. There are dozens of different means by which a fraudulent broker can attract a user, and it all happens over some kind of technology, be it a phone or a PC.
The most suspenseful part for any scammer is to convince any one user to invest for the very first time, which is why call centers are always looking for enthusiastic and charismatic dealers, both illicit call centers and legit ones. An initial deposit can be retrieved by falsely claiming lucrative opportunities, by pretending to be someone else – like a rep of a legitimate investment company or regulator -, by being devilishly charming, and even by blackmailing.
Once the initial deposit has gone through, the user has fallen for the trap and is now ready for phase two, which is to leech as much money from him or her until his/her senses realize that something is not quite right. Usually, this happens after profits are withheld, or the broker does not keep its promises, or stalls all withdrawal requests.
Essentially, the client will not be able to withdrawal any of the invested capital and will be forced to look for an alternative. On the broker’s side, the firm may shut its website, or at least draw all communication with the user to a sudden stop.
What to do when scammed
The best thing you can do is to file for a chargeback with ones credit or debit card provider, just make sure that the broker does not charge for a fee for a chargeback since some do really do that. The chargeback period for MasterCard and VISA is 540 days, giving users a lot of time to try and get his money back.
Wire transfers are harder to get back, since there are certain restrictions depending on the bank and the jurisdiction in which the scam took place. We advice users to change their bank account user names and passwords, and then swiftly contact their bank for further assistance.
Crypto investments are untraceable and therefore lost forever if invested in unregulated brokers. That is the reason why you will see more and more scammer offering exclusively crypto-based payment methods.
If you stumble on a recovery agent or agency do not trust them, nor should you send them any money. They will promise to bring back your lost funds but will require a fee for their “services”. Obviously, these are scammers and will take even more of your money.
