category: Unregulated Brokers

Is Trades.com Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with Trades.com. The broker does not hold any license. Moreover, it pretends to be another regulated broker (TRADE.COM). Evidently, the names of the two brokers are almost identical, and Trades.com tries to benefit from this.

About Trades.com

🗺️ Registered in	No Registration
🗺️ Type of License	No License
🛡️ Is Trades.com safe to trade	No
🗺️ Recommended Licenses	FCA in UK 🇬🇧 & ASIC in Australia 🇦🇺
🖥 Alternative Broker	GO Markets - licensed by ASIC in Australia

What is Trades.com?

Trades.com as mentioned on the official company website is the global forex and CFD provider that gives the possibility to build a varied and robust portfolio. “Diversify your trading and minimize any potential risks, with a broad choice of financial trading products. Trade with no commission, and benefit from highly advantageous trading terms, including versatile leverage (Also read our review on MEX Exchange to know more about its leverage), low margin and tight spreads (Low Spread Forex Brokers), along with employed strictest measures to ensure the safety and privacy of account. We also regularly submit financial reports to the regulators to prove that we hold sufficient capital to cover all client balances.”

• All that, of course, sounds good, but the main issue is that the broker’s name and offering are creating confusion since there is a well-regulated and quite big broker TRADE.COM. This broker is internationally recognized and known, while trades.com changes only a letter and is, in fact, a non-legal, non-licensed entity that strives only to attract clients. What the broker can do after we can just guess, but definitely it seems to be a fraud. Unauthorized firms promoting hardly Forex and the trading investment itself, however, traders should be careful since that company concert is just to take money from the public.
• This is actually a common practice among scam brokerages to use the tactic to pretend another, authorized firm so traders should be especially wary while deciding to deposit funds or engage in trading with a particular company. The first and major step is to check the registration of the company, while mostly all respected authorities publish an online listing with open access to all users, with the purpose to check the current status of the firm or another.

Trades.com Review Conclusion

One of the most essential steps when choosing a broker is whether it is licensed or overseen by any of the financial authorities. Generally, we recommend trading with financial services providers licensed by one of the most respected financial regulators – the Financial Conduct Authority. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets, HotForex, etc.

Trades.com Update

We found the Trades.com website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert if any proposals come. 

Is TopTrader Scam or Legit Broker?

At first glance, TopTrader seems to be a legitimate broker (See the list of best forex brokers), as the company presents itself as one of the leading global Forex and CFD trading providers. The firm opens access to opportunities across thousands of financial markets through its intuitive platforms and helps to trade financial markets. 

What is TopTrade?

The broker assures that the implemented strictest security measures ensure the strength and stability of the trading and integrity to the safest trading account. However, the trademark TopTrade is used by the company, which is not showing clearly its location, therefore regulatory status, while the only fact they reveal is their payment provider PayPeq OU based in Estonia. For that reason, all the states may not be a fact, as simply none of the authorities confirm this status.

TopTrade Alternative Brokers

Due to our finds and issues with the safety of TopTrade here are much better Alternatives with good regulations and excellent trading conditions. Besides, there are so many attractive offerings among the Forex industry, so we always ask why to involve yourself into the risk to lose funds and trading with a non-regulated entity.

Of course, it is much safer to choose among the brokers that located and regulated in jurisdictions alike UK, Cyprus or Germany. We select Good Brokers and trustworty options for your comparison below: 

• AvaTrade – Good for Currency trading
• FP Markets – Good for CopyTrading
• Go Markets– Good for Beginners

TopTrade Review Conclusion

Considering all the information found on TopStep Trader, it shows that the company definitely not well regulated (See forex scammer list here), has no legal license to deliver its financial service, therefore might be just another scam. Moreover, after looking at the TopTrade reviews on several review websites we found nothing but complaints or the negative experience faced by the traders. In our conclusion, we would advise avoiding TopTrade company and their proposals by any means, as it’s not the business to trust.

TopTrade Updates

We found TopTrade website is no longer active so the broker probably ceased its operation and does not provide access to trading anymore. We recommend staying alert and better choose trustworthy brokers with proven records of operation. 

Is TeamFX Scam or Legit Broker?

No, TeamFX is not safe to trade with. Obviously, the broker is located in some offshore zone and presents itself as a legal financial service entity. This, of course, puts a red flag on the TeamFX company, as most probably it is just another scam or fraud firm that targets worldwide traders with its aggressive marketing tactics.

What is TeamFX?

TeamFX is an online trading provider with access to various assets including Forex and CFD trading. The firm offers an easy trading experience with the support of educational materials, courses, daily insights, analysis groups, and other additional services that are designed for the trader to succeed, as claimed by the broker.

• However, the broker's reliability should be confirmed by the legal sources and other data that secure traders from the investment with the fraud company, which gives many promises. While it seems that TeamFX is a new player among vast of trading offering since simply there is a lack of information about the company, nor reviews from the traders or even clear info about the company location. The domain address of the website is located in the UK, while the firm misleads about the real fact of their registration. After the research, we found that the broker is nor registered in the UK or regulated by the mandatory licensor and regulator of the financial investment firms in the UK, FCA (Financial Conduct Authority).

Overall TeamFX Ranking 

With our finds and issues with the regulations and safety of TeamFX, we do not rank positively TeamFX, within our Expert Opinion and over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading since there are brokers with much better safety and trading conditions.

• TeamFX Overall Ranking is 2 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to 500 other brokers, see Our Ranking below compared to other popular and industry Leading Brokers.

TeamFX Alternative Brokers

With our finds and issues with the safety of TeamFX, there are much better Alternatives to TeamFX Broker with good regulations and excellent conditions. We select Good Brokers and trustworthy options for your comparison below: 

• Dukascopy – Excellent for Shares, Futures Trading
• AvaTrade – Good Instrument and CopyTrading
• FXTM – Good for Beginners

TeamFX Education

Since 2018 TeamFX has been providing its services, educational courses, and products to beginner traders around the UK. They specialize in training complete beginners and converting them into independent traders. We offer a variety of online and in-person courses as well as subscriptions to access their trading and discussion channels.

Here are the main programs they offer:

• FX Analysis & Discussion Group
• Beginner to Independent Trading Course
• 1-1 Sessions & Group Courses

TeamFX Review Conclusion

We always advise trading with regulated brokers only, as the legal status of the company, the service it offers, and further reliable trading environment should stay the paramount priority of any trader. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FBS and BlackBull Markets.

• The overall ranking and trading experience for TeamFX is Negative

Is HybridReserve Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with HybridReserve. HybridReserve is owned by SingleBell OU which is an offshore company registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

• St. Vincent and the Grenadines is notorious for its practically absent requirements and regulations. Due to the setup cost being low, it does not regulate forex trading. Therefore, it became an offshore zone for shady forex brokers such as CapitalXP, Welkron, and more. You can read our detailed article about the risk of trading with brokers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

What is HybridReserve?

The HybridReserve broker offers a trading solution for traders of different sizes including professionals, and private or institutional traders, while the software package delivers efficiently and profitably. The broker claims to be incorporated in Tallinn, Estonia. Apart from the fact that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a very liberal jurisdiction, which not overseeing the financial investment firms and their activity, the office in Estonia is not registered as well. That means that the broker is actually an illegal entity.

• In addition, the broker has been banned by several regulators:

"The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) warns the public against the activities of (Singlebell Ltd / SingleBell OU), a company that offers investments without complying with Belgian financial legislation. HybridReserve (Singlebell Ltd / SingleBell OU) is not allowed to provide banking and/or investment services in or from Belgium." FSMA, 19 February, 2019.

• "SingleBell Ltd. is not entitled to carry out banking transactions in Austria that require a license. The provider is therefore not permitted to trade in financial futures contracts (futures) on its own account or on the account of others" FMA, 1 March 2019.

HybridReserve Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid HybridReserve and other brokers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FBS and BlackBull Markets.

HybridReserve Update

We found the HybridReserve website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert if any proposals come. 

Is Templer FX Scam or Legit Broker?

It is not safe to trade with TemplerFX. TemplerFX is owned by Templer Holdings Management Ltd. which is an offshore company registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The SVG authorization is considered an offshore license and traders are recommended not to trust and invest with SVG-registered brokers. The reason for that is the set of rules and established requirements that are implemented by the SVG FSA are very far from the international strictest standards that truly protect clients.

• In addition, the authority does not actually oversee the firm’s operations, therefore the claims about its regulated nature, integrity, and transparency are very far from reality. 
• Based on research, it costs €24,000 per year to become a member of the SVG. However, there is no handbook or guidelines for brokers to run their businesses, therefore, there is zero protection for traders. You can read our detailed article about the risk of trading with brokers from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

What is Templer FX?

Templer Holding was founded by foreign exchange veterans with over 40 years of combined experience, commencing business at the end of 2004. The company operates as an institutional and retail ECN (ECN brokers) counterparty to clients trading in the foreign exchange ("Forex") market.

Templer FX is a trademark of St. Vincent and the Grenadines financial investment firm, which is also authorized by the local agency FSA, the Financial Service Provider Commission with license number 23395. The broker offers a variety of trading opportunities including speculation on Forex, CFD, Indices, and Metals through an industry leader MetaTrader4.

• The company states their payment service provider is a firm located in Scotland, Mayside Solutions LP, which is rather confusing than a positive fact. Moreover, the company mentions numerous international standardization and successful operations through the years since its start in 2004.
• It is a quite long operation history, yet there are not so many online reviews from the traders, which is definitely a negative aspect, as it is simply impossible to operate for so long and remain with just several mainly negative reviews. Even though the only few available responses from the real traders show that the company delivers trading conditions with cases of manipulation, issues with withdrawals, and aggressive tactics. 

Overall Templer FX Ranking 

Our research revealed multiple issues on Templer FX regulations and safety, thus we do not rank positively Templer FX, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• Templer FX Overall Ranking is 2 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to 500 other brokers, see Our Ranking below compared to other popular and industry Leading Brokers.

Templer FX Alternative Brokers

Due to our finds and issues with the safety of Templer FX here are much better Alternatives to Templer FX with good regulations and excellent conditions. We select Good Brokers and trustworthy options for your comparison below: 

• AvaTrade – Good for Currency trading
• FP Markets – Good for CopyTrading
• FXTM – Good for Beginners

Templer FX in India

With Templer FX Indian traders are able to open accounts and trade. However, Templer FX has no mention of complying with any Indian regulators on its website.  However, the broker is not regulated by any regulatory body in India, thus money safety might be an issue here.

Templer FX in the USA

The United States is one of the countries that is not accepted by Templer FX. As per U.S law, brokers regulated by CFTC are the only brokers allowed for USA traders. So, except for Forex Birds, you are only permitted to trade with U.S-regulated platforms. Also, the broker does not provide services to UK, EU, Canada, Turkey, Israel, and Japan residents and entities of any kind.

Templer FX Deposits and Withdrawals

Templer FX minimum deposit requirement is 25 USD. Templer FX Brokerage withdrawal fees vary on payment method. Templer FX Brokerage does charge a fee for inactive accounts. Templer FX Brokerage does charge deposit fees. Temper FX offers a lot of payment methods including bank wire transfers, credit cards, and popular e-wallet systems such as Skrill, Perfect Money, fasapay, Qiwi Wallet, and more.

Demo Account

Templer FX also offers a demo account. The Demo Account is provided to give traders a demonstration of the broker’s trading platform and to offer traders the opportunity to trade on simulated real trading conditions. This further allows the trader to gain more experience prior to trading with real funds and facing actual risk. Traders may test their trading strategies and become familiar with the trading platform at their own pace.

Templer FX Review Conclusion 

Overall, we strongly advise opening a trading account only with brokers that are regulated by respected world authorities that comply with the required set of rules, and have a good reputation through the delivered timeframe of operations. Traders should sign in with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets, HotForex, and Infinox.

• Overall ranking and experience for Templer FX is Negative

Is Britonprice Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with Britonprice. The company is owned and operated by Britonprice FinServices LTD and claims to be located in Sofia, Bulgaria.

• Despite its location, the broker doesn’t provide any information about the regulation/license and we can also confirm that neither Britonprice nor Britonprice FinServices LTD is regulated in Bulgaria by the Financial Supervision Commission.

What is Britonprice?

Previously, Britonprice was owned by Solutions CM which had a bad reputation because it was banned multiple times as an owner of such brokers as Lockwood Investments and Easy Line Pro.

• Also, the only contact number on the website is British, when the broker is definitely not authorized in the UK by FCA. Moreover, Spain’s regulator CNMV issued a warning against Britonprice in April 2018:

"www.britonprice.com is not authorized to provide the investment services detailed in Article 140 of the Securities Markets Law, which includes investment advice, or to provide the auxiliary services detailed in letters a), b), d), f) and g) of Article 141 of the said Law in relation to the financial instruments detailed in Article 2 of the said Law, including, for those purposes, foreign currency transactions.”

• Another and more recent warning was issued by German BaFin:

Britonprice Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid Britonprice and other unregulated brokers. The lack of information about the broker’s regulations, trading conditions, and contact details should be the biggest red flag for those who plan to invest with the entity. Usually, such companies run investment scams. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets, HotForex, and Infinox.

Britonprice Update

Based on our research, the Britonprice website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is WT Capital Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with WT Capital. The broker states to be regulated and safe, however despite the fact that it is based in Switzerland, it is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK or the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).  In reality, it is registered in Seychelles, which is an offshore zone and does not provide fundamental protection.

What is WT Capital?

WT Capital is a Forex and CFDs broker, owned and operated by Force Media LTD., registered in Switzerland. The website provides the company's official address in Zurich, Switzerland, and also gives British and Swiss contact phone numbers. However, the broker is actually not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK or Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) or any other regulator. It also turned out that the broker actually is registered (maybe even located) offshore as the terms and conditions on the website state that all the legal issues could be addressed to the jurisdiction of the Republic of Seychelles.

• In addition, WT Capital has been blacklisted by the Swiss regulator FINMA:
  "Force Media LTD/ World Trade Capital/ https://www.wt-capital.com/ may be carrying out unauthorized services and is not supervised by FINMA."

WT Capital Review Conclusion

We keep on reminding investors that dealing with offshore brokers is risky for their funds. Such destinations as Seychelles, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, etc. are known for their lax regulation and non-existent corporate taxes, so the brokers who are registered offshore are not licensed, nor overseen by any authority. It is safer to choose among the brokers regulated by respected authorities like FCA in the UK, FINMA in Switzerland, or CySEC in Cyprus. Check the list of FINMA-regulated brokers.

WT Capital Update

Based on our research, the WT Capital website is inactive. This means the broker has muted its trading offering and does not operate. However, we recommend avoiding and staying alert in case of any proposals. 

Is Eminage Scam or Legit Broker?

Eminage is not a safe broker. It does not hold any license which means that the broker’s activities are not overseen by any authority. Generally, offshore or unregulated brokers are engaged in fraud offerings, which may put the trader’s investments at risk.

• In forex trading, it is essential to sign in with a reliable broker with tight regulations. Many unregulated brokers try to attract traders with favorable conditions and offerings, but often this is just a trap. 

What is Eminage?

Eminage is the leader of trading platforms in the cryptocurrency market, the founders have put their knowledge and experience in the market at clients' disposal to provide an easy-to-use and secure platform, as claimed on the company website. The company also claims its offices and agencies in major global cities, including London, Shanghai, Malta, and Iceland, and the soon opening of France offices.

• However, it is not clear where the broker is registered and it is obvious that there is no regulatory body that oversees Eminage.
• As a member of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the Spain CNMV regularly receives alerts issued by foreign securities regulators on general topics of interest to investors. Therefore, the originally issued by the France AMF warning against Eminage company was spread around through various publications, followed by Belgium and a set of other countries.

“The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is warning the public against Tallinex company proposing atypical investments without being authorized to do so”

AMF, France. September 2018.

• The warning concerns about Eminage trading offerings while the residents and potential investors were alerted of dealing with Forex trading and cryptocurrency business specifically through the firms that were considered to be scams.

Eminage Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid Eminage and other brokers from Vanuatu. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and TMGM.

Eminage Update

We found the Eminage website inactive and unavailable to reach. This means the broker no longer operates. However, it is best to avoid and stay alert if any proposals come. 

Is ECM Scam or Legit Broker?

According to our research and our finds, ECM is not a secure broker because is based solely in offshore zone and does not guarantee its trading environment. 

What is ECM? 

ECM group is an online trading firm, specializing in forex and CFD brokerage while claiming its global coverage of international individual traders, money managers, and institutions. With an opportunity to trade Forex and Precious Metals with high interbank liquidity conditions, robust order execution in a split second, ultra-tight spreads (Check Brokers with Zero Spread), and other advantages on MT4.

However, being located in the offshore zone of Vanuatu, the company, does not comply with its operational standards with the strictest international set of performance designed by a reputable authority with the purpose of protecting clients. This is the reason why the reliability of the broker cannot be confirmed. 

• In addition, in order to be licensed the firm should prove its capital and are secured by participation in schemes in case things go wrong. Therefore, the client, his funds, and investments are protected by the necessary legitimate authorities at authorized firms. And there are various companies to choose from, with vast investment opportunities and with the following of the strictest rules from ASIC regulations, CySEC or FCA international standards.  

Overall ECM Ranking 

With our finds and issues with regulations and safety of ECM, we do not rank positively ECM, within our Expert Opinion and over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading since there are brokers with much better safety and trading conditions.

• ECM Overall Ranking is 2 out of 10 based on our testing and compared to 500 other brokers, see Our Ranking below compared to other popular and industry Leading Brokers.

ECM Alternative Brokers

With our finds and issues with the safety of ECM, there are much better Alternatives to ECM Broker with good regulations and excellent conditions. We select Good Brokers and trustworthy options for your comparison below: 

• Dukascopy – Excellent for Shares, Futures Trading
• AvaTrade – Good Instrument and CopyTrading
• FXTM – Good for Beginners

Fees

ECM fees are consistent. There are no hidden fees.  Spreads offered by ECM are tight. Based on our research, the proposals are often lower, as compared to other brokers in the market. 

ECM Money Withdrawal

ECM mentions there is No minimum deposit required for a Standard account. However, system restrictions may limit this amount to $ 10 based on funding methods. 

Funding methods available on ECM include:

• Credit Cards, ePayment, Local Bank Transfer, and Bank Wire Transfer.

Since ECM Broker is not regulated there can be issues with money withdrawals, you can submit the withdrawal request yet there is no guarantee that you will get your money back.

ECM Review Conclusion

Mostly we do not recommend trading with a non-regulated broker like with the ECM, as an offshore zone does not bring a lot of credibilities, therefore there is no guarantee that potential gains will be ever returned back and managed correctly. It is much safer to invest with a reputable brokerage firm that is licensed by the industry authority and constantly overseen in terms of the performance and delivery of financial services. 

• The overall ranking and Trading Experience for ECM is Negative