Beware! Starq Emic 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.
The Starq Emic website looks familiar to us, but not because it is the regulated and established forex broker it claims to be. The reason is that Starq Emic is identical to other scams we have come across, for example OcoDigi. Let’s take a closer look at how you can determine if a broker is legitimate or not.
Starq Emic Regulation and safety of funds
Guaranteed Funds | Segregated Accounts | Negative balance protection | |
Starq Emic | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
UK regulated brokers | £85 000 | Yes | Yes |
EU regulated brokers | €20 000 | Yes | Yes |
AU regulated brokers | No | Yes | Yes |
US regulted brokers | Yes | Yes | No |
Legitimate forex brokers provide clear and detailed information about the legal entity that owns and operates them, where it is based, what licences it has and which regulators oversee its activities. Lack of such details or improper presentation of them are always a red flag that we are probably dealing with a scam.
Starq Emic does not disclose which company is behind this website. Even the text of the Client Agreement does not name the legal entity.
In the footer of the website we see a statement that the unnamed company is based and licensed in Cyprus.
Elsewhere it is claimed that the broker is also authorised by regulators in South Africa, Australia and Belize.
The Client Agreement names the offshore zone of Vanuatu as the applicable jurisdiction.
A check of the databases of all relevant financial regulators reveals that there is no licensed broker using the Starq Emic trade name and domain. The Russian financial authorities have issued an explicit warning that this website is not authorised.
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.
Starq Emic Trading software
Analytical tools | Auto trading | Custom indicators | Mobile apps | |
Starq Emic | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
MT4 | 30+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
MT5 | 50+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
cTrader | 40+ indicators | ✅ | ✅ | Android and iOS |
Starq Emic uses a standard web-based trading platform. Here is how it looks like:
While this platform has the basic functionality to place orders, it cannot compare to the capabilities provided by MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). It is no coincidence that these platforms have established themselves as the industry standard. 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.
It should be noted that the presence of some kind of trading software is no guarantee that this is a genuine broker. Financial scammers often use rigged trading platforms to fool their victims that their money is actually being invested. However, this trading is entirely fictitious and the money goes directly into the scammers’ pockets.
Starq Emic Trading instruments
Currency | Stocks | Indices | Crypto | Commodities | |
Starq Emic | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
XM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FBS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FXTM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
In theory, Starq Emic offers trading in a great number of instruments of all major asset classes. But you can rest assured that this anonymous scam website only offers fictitious trading.
Starq Emic Spreads and cost of trading
Starq Emic | XM | FBS | FXTM | |
Spread EURUSD | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1 | 1.1 |
Spread GBPUSD | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
Spread USDJPY | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
In the trading platform we see almost zero spread, which means that the broker must charge some kind of commission. But the website claims that Starq Emic does not charge commissions, which is too good to be true.
Starq Emic Maximum leverage
Forex | Stocks | Crypto | Gold | Indices | |
Starq Emic | 500:1 | 100:1 | 10:1 | 100:1 | 100:1 |
UK regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | ❌ | 10:1 | 10:1 |
EU regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | 2:1 | 10:1 | 10:1 |
AU regulated brokers | 30:1 | 5:1 | 2:1 | 10:1 | 10:1 |
US regulated brokers | 50:1 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
Starq Emic advertises leverage between 1:100 and 1:500 for different account types. This also indicates that Starq Emic is not the regulated broker it portrays itself to be. High leverage creates the opportunity for more significant profit, but correspondingly increases the risk of sudden and excessive losses. All leading regulators therefore restrict leverage for retail traders.
Regulated brokers offer higher leverage only to professional clients who must meet very high standards for capital and experience and forgo the guarantees enjoyed by retail traders.
If you don’t qualify as a professional trader but are willing to take the risk of high-leverage trading, the most viable option is to use the services of an offshore affiliate of an established brand.
Starq Emic Deposit and withdrawal methods
Deposit time | Withdrawal time | Price | |
Crypto | 24 hours | 24 hours | Fee depends on crypto |
Starq Emic only allows the deposit of funds with cryptocurrencies. Scammers prefer cryptocurrencies because these transactions are not subject to refunds.
Legitimate brokers typically offer clients a wide choice of transparent payment methods, including bank transfer, credit/debit cards and established e-wallets such as PayPal, Skrill or Neteller. If you’re interested in legitimate brokers that accept digital currency payments alongside conventional methods, check out this list.
Starq Emic Minimum deposit
Starq Emic | XM | FBS | FXTM | |
Minimum deposit | $150 | $5 | $10 | $5 |
Starq Emic requires a minimum deposit of 150 USD. For the same or often lower amount you could open a starter trading account with a truly regulated broker.
Starq Emic Withdrawal requirements
Trading volume | Fee/Tax on withdrawal | Minimum withdrawal | |
Starq Emic | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified |
UK regulated brokers | No | No | No |
EU regulated brokers | No | No | No |
AU regulated brokers | No | No | No |
US regulated brokers | No | No | No |
Starq Emic does not provide information on fees and withdrawal terms. But these types of scams always surprise you with hidden fees and other tricks that prevent you from withdrawing your money back.