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When you open a trading account with this company, you will need to deposit money to the account so you can trade.
Are you sure you can trust this broker?
Shady Forex Broker
Unfortunately, not all brokers are honest and trustworthy.
A big issue with the retail forex trading industry is a lack of transparency and unclear regulatory structures with insufficient oversight.
Due to its decentralized and global nature, the forex market is less regulated than other financial markets, making it more prone to fraud.
And with the rise of internet-based trading platforms since the early 2000s, forex trading has become even more accessible and popular among retail traders across the world.
This explosion of noob traders (“fresh meat”) creates more opportunities for dubious behavior by shady brokers like fraudulent schemes, order manipulation, refusal to pay out for wins, or preventing account holders from withdrawing their funds.
In the past, many forex brokers were unregulated, which means that these brokers were NOT operating under the supervision of a governing body whose role is supposed to protect traders from being fleeced. So if you are scammed, there’s no hope for any legal recourse.
Forex Broker Stealing Your Money
Your money is gone.
Fast forward to today and while the retail forex industry has slowly become more regulated, shady brokers still exist who should not be in business.
This is why the most important first step is verifying the legitimacy of the forex broker you choose.
When you’re looking to trade forex, it’s important to identify brokers who are reputable and avoid the ones that are not.
You don’t want to end up being part of the unfortunate group of individual traders who fall prey to a forex scam.
Forex Scam Victim Club
In order to identify reputable brokers from shady ones, you need to do your homework before depositing a large amount of money with a broker.
The forex broker you choose is going to be your first critical decision as a new trader.
Why?
Because you’re going to be handing over money to this company!
Deposit Money to Forex Broker
So the first thing you need to make absolutely sure, especially BEFORE you make your first trade, is once you transfer funds to the broker…if you’ll also be able to withdraw those funds.
You might make the assumption that once your money is in your trading account that you’ll be able to trade with it and then withdraw it whenever you want to cash out your profits.
But don’t just assume this is true! VERIFY!
Never assume, always check.
You can be the most awesome trader in the world, but if your broker disappears with your money, then it doesn’t matter.
Most Awesome Broke Trader
You’d just end up being the most awesome broke trader in the world. 🤣
If you want to stay awesome, but avoid being broke, then here are some important questions to consider before choosing a broker.
Is it a real company?
Is the forex broker a real company?
Don’t be fooled by a nicely designed website.
Legal Incorporated Forex Broker
Make sure there’s an actual legally incorporated company behind that website.
Here are things to look for to verify that they are a real company:
What is its formal business name?
Where is it incorporated and registered to do business?
How long has it been in business?
Can you find anything on Google about the company?
Have there been any recent press releases or articles about the company?
Where is it located?
Does the company have a physical office address?
Don’t be fooled by a listed address on their website. Make sure there’s a real office behind that address.
A simple way to check if the office is an actual office is to use Google Maps.
Enter the address in Google Maps and see what appears.
Google Map Forex Broker's Office Address
And to get a better view of the office, you can also use Google Earth.
Enter the address in Google Earth and see what appears.
Google Earth Forex Broker's Office
Zoom in until you can see the building they’re in. Is it an actual office building? Or does it look suspicious?
Forex Broker's Office Building Looks Suspicious
