category: Unregulated Brokers

Is LVMexchange Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with LVMexchange. This is an offshore broker registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This means that the broker does not hold any serious license and it might operate its business, not in the manner beneficial for the clients. 

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is a popular offshore jurisdiction for forex brokers due to its low set-up requirements and minimal regulation. However, the lack of regulatory oversight and lax requirements can also lead to potential risks for traders who choose to sign up with brokers registered with the SVG Financial Services Authority. Read more about the authority. 

What is LVMexchange?

LVMexchange is a broker that offers to trade on forex and CFDs. The company is owned and operated by LVM Ltd. According to the website, LVM Ltd, is incorporated under registered number 24616 IBC 2018 by the Registrar of International Business Companies, registered by the Financial Services Authority of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Also, if you look at the terms and conditions of the company, you will find out about the fact that LVMEXCHANGE is the trading name of LVMARKETS. Seems like previously the website had a different name and the broker was incorporated in Vanuatu. Some unregulated brokers change their names in order to erase the negative reputation and continue doing their illegal business. 

• Despite the fact that the broker's address is in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, it provides a Swiss phone number as a contact number. This should be one more red flag for those who are going to invest with LVMexchange.

LVMexchange Review Conclusion

Investing with a properly regulated broker is crucial for the safety of any investment. We recommend avoiding offshore brokers with suspicious offerings. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and TMGM.

Is 4xbrands Scam or Legit Broker?

4xbrands is not a safe broker as it does not hold any serious license. It is registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and does not provide proper safety terms and conditions. 

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is a popular offshore jurisdiction for forex brokers due to its low set-up requirements and minimal regulation. Yet, the lack of regulatory oversight and lax requirements can also lead to potential risks for traders who choose to sign up with brokers registered with the SVG Financial Services Authority.

What is 4xbrands?

4xbrands is a Forex and CFDs broker. The company is owned and operated by 4Xbrands Ltd., registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a popular offshore zone for forex firms. The broker doesn't provide much information about its trading conditions as well as about the location and contact details.

The only way of contacting the company is via "call request". The terms and conditions on the website mention Cyprus as the jurisdiction responsible for the brokerage, although the company doesn't seem to be regulated by any of the authorities.

• In addition, Italy's regulator CONSOB issued a warning against 4xbrands in February 2018:
  "The National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange has ordered, in accordance with art. 7-octies, letter b) of the TUF, the company 4Xbrands Ltd (www.4xbrands.com), to cease the infringement of art. 18 of Italian Legislative Decree no. 58/98 put in place through their respective website, consisting of the provision of investment services and activities to the Italian public, including through the internet network (resolutions n. 20288, 20289 and 20290 of February 7, 2018)."

4xbrands Review Conclusion

Trading with offshore brokers is extremely risky. Many of these brokers are scam companies trying to attract investments. We always recommend avoiding offshore brokers as 4xbrands and investing only with brokers that are regulated by reputable authorities alike UK’s FCA, Australian ASIC, or other similar regulators, that provide compensation and are strictly supervised. We advise signing in with reliable brokers such as BlackBull Markets, XM, and BDSwiss. 

4xbrands Update

We found the 4xbrands 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 Big Boss Scam or Legit Broker?

Big Boss has been suspected as a scam broker. Big Boss is an offshore company registered in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. 

• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is a popular offshore jurisdiction for forex brokers due to its low set-up requirements and minimal regulation. However, the lack of regulatory oversight and lax requirements can also lead to potential risks for traders who choose to sign up with brokers registered with the SVG Financial Services Authority.

What is BigBoss?

BigBoss is a trading name used by the Investment 4 Futures Limited company located in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The company offers CFD and Forex trading on a vast of trading instruments through a range of account types and high leverage levels (Find out brokers with high leverage).

• However, SVG is a known offshore zone, which does not implement strict standards for the financial firms and not overseeing their operation in case of the trustful service. For that reason, there are many companies that enable trading opportunities and actually operate frauds with the purpose to attract clients' funds.

• Even though it may not be the case for every SVG company the unregulated nature puts many questions, why the broker does not want to protect their client. In addition, recently BigBoss was added to the caution list updated by the Italian authority CONSOB while stating that the company operated trading platforms and offered services without appropriate license or authorization.

  “The BigBoss mentioned in this site internet not authorized to provide investment services to the Italian public as these companies are not entered in the register kept by Consob pursuant. Your order to end the violation of Article 18 of the D.Lgs.n. 58/98 implemented through the website consisting in the offer and performance of services and investment activities towards the Italian public.”

  CONSOB, Italy. July 2018

  

Overall Big Boss Markets Ranking

During our research we found issues regarding Big Boss safety and regulations, thus we do not rank positively Big Boss, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• Big Boss Overall Ranking is 3 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.

Big Boss Alternative Brokers

Based on our finds and issues with the safety of Big Boss here are much better Alternatives to Big Boss with good regulations and excellent conditions. We select Good Brokers and reliable options for your comparison below: 

• XM – Wide Range of Trading Opportunities
• InteractiveBrokers – Good for US Trading and Trading of Real Stocks
• FXTM – Good for Beginners

Deposits and Withdrawals

Big Boss does not accept account applications from people younger than 18 and older than 80. The minimum deposit with the broker starts from $1. 

• To withdraw funds, clients will be required to provide all director's identity documents and address proofs before they withdraw funds from their accounts. If there is any mismatch of information between the client's account registration and the submitted identity documents or address proofs, users may not be able to withdraw funds from the trading accounts.

Big Boss Review Conclusion

We recommend avoiding offshore and non-regulated brokers and instead advise traders to sign and invest only with brokers that are regulated by reputable authorities alike UK’s FCA, Australian ASIC, or other similar regulators, that provide compensation and are strictly supervised. We advise signing in with reliable brokers such as BlackBull Markets, XM, and BDSwiss. 

• Overall ranking and experience for Big Boss is Negative

Is Pocket Options Scam or Legit Broker?

Pocket Options has been suspected as a scam broker. According to the website, Pocket Options is providing financial services under the laws of the Marshall Islands Business Corporation Act. However, it doesn’t mean the company is regulated or licensed. 

• Marshall Islands are known hub for various scams and fraud companies, as the incorporation requirements are very low, while the only “standard” is a small initial start capital. Of course, it doesn’t mean that all companies are frauds, but a firm with a trustful trading environment should be authorized by any other reputable world agency. Even though the Pocket Option brokerage is a “freshly” established firm and there are not many scary stories about their violations, some reviews still appear mainly concerning manipulations in the trading process.

What is Pocket Options?

Pocket Options is an online trading provider offering over 100+ trading instruments, along with competitive promo and bonuses that reward clients with social trading capabilities and other tools. The trading name Pocket Option is owned and operated by Gembell Limited, which is registered in the Marshall Islands investment firm, as well claimed to operate under the regulation of IFMRRC (International Financial Market Relations Regulation Center).

• However, its regulated status is doubtful, since IFMRRC is a non-governmental authority that acts as an independent organization and does not strictly oversee the operation of the registers.

Overall Pocket Option Ranking 

Because of the regulation and safety issues we found during our research of Pocket Option, we do not rank positively Pocket Option, based on our Expert Opinion with over 10 Years of experience in Forex Trading.

• Pocket Option 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.

Ranking	Pocket Option	FP Markets	XM
Our Ranking	⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Is Broker safe?	No	Yes	Yes
Advantages	None	Trading Instruments	Platforms

Pocket Option Alternative Brokers

We found that Pocket Option has a lot of issues, mainly in respect of its safety and customer care. Thus, here are much better Alternatives to Pocket Option with tight regulations and great trading conditions. We select Good Brokers and reliable options for your comparison below: 

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

Pocket Option Deposit & Withdrawal

To fund a Pocket Option account traders can choose among the following methods: Bank wire transfers, cryptocurrencies, Visa and Mastercard payment cards, plus Skrill, Neteller, FasaPay and Load e-wallets. Depending on the chosen method, it may take some time for the transfer to reflect on the Pocket Option trading account.

• Traders are able to withdraw funds via the methods that they previously used for depositing in their trading accounts.
• It is possible to withdraw the trading account balance at any time without any restrictions on the amount. If traders do not have active deposit bonuses, they can withdraw the trading account balance at any time without any restrictions on the amount. 

Pocket Option Review Conclusion

Based on our finds, we do not see Pocket Option as a trustable broker. We always advise trading only with reputable companies, nor with an offshore one, since the safety of funds and potential investments always go first. For that reason, it is a much better choice to trade with Brokers registered and supervised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), such as BDSwiss and FBS.

• Overall ranking and experience for Pocket Option is Negative

Is PrimeCrypto Scam or Legit Broker?

PrimeCrypto is not a safe broker to trade with. It does not hold a serious license and its offerings might be unsafe to sign. Meaning the broker is suspected of being a fraud company since it was not checked for its compliance before establishment, was never monitored in terms of its safety, and may operate the business in any way it wishes.

What is PrimeCrypto?

PrimeCrypto is the trading name of the financial investment firm Maplewalk Ltd incorporated in Bulgaria. According to Bulgarian law and its status being a part of the EU requires registration by the local authority FSC (Financial Supervision Commission), but this is not the case with the PrimeCrypto as there is no license or regulation.

• Apart from the issue with the registration and its legitimacy to deliver financial services or the trading environment, the company does not clarify clearly its trading offering. The broker states and positions itself as a Cryptocurrencies seller or exchange service, however, it is not possible since the offering includes trading on CFDs only. This means the trader speculated on the price of the underlying asset only, therefore the company misleads investors with wrong explanations.

• Moreover, since the company targets and uses marketing strategies in jurisdictions strictly overseen by the local industry authorities, PrimeCrypto received a warning to deliver its service.

  “This firm is not authorized by us and is targeting people in the UK.  We strongly advise you to only deal with financial firms that are authorized and check the Financial Services Register to ensure they are.”

  FCA, UK. September 2018.

PrimeCrypto Conclusion

We strongly advise all traders and investors to cooperate only with Regulated Forex Brokers that are overseen by reputable authorities, as well as to take it seriously if the company appeared in alert listings. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and TMGM.

PrimeCrypto Update

We found the PrimeCrypto 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 Capital Swiss FX Scam or Legit Broker?

Capital Swiss FX is a non-Regulated broker. It is NOT SAFE to trade. The company is owned by Swiss Capital LTD, an offshore entity located in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. 

• St Vincent is an attractive solution among financial companies and those businesses that for one reason or another choose to operate through an offshore company. As the jurisdiction itself offers easy-to-achieve setup demands through a very quick, simplified process, the firm does not necessarily need an office in SVG, is allowed to maintain low initial capital, and has no strict establishment rules or requirements, yet allows running a global business. Read more about why to avoid the brokers registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

What is Capital Swiss FX? 

Capital Swiss FX is a Forex and CFDs broker. Although, there is a discrepancy on the website as it also states that "this site is owned by Swiss Capital Group Ltd, with License No.08746620, 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, England".

• There is one more thing that makes all this regulation thing even more confusing is that the terms and conditions say the company is under Cyprus jurisdiction. Despite the offshore registration, Capital Swiss FX would need to have licenses from the UK's FCA and CySec in Cyprus, but we didn't find any records of the broker's authorization with the mentioned or any other regulators.
  In addition to this, Swiss regulator FINMA has issued a warning against the broker:
  "Capital Swiss FX https://capitalswissfx.com may be carrying out unauthorized services and are not supervised by FINMA."

Capital Swiss FX Review Conclusion

It is important to remember that investing in offshore brokers is extremely risky and a large percentage of those companies are in fact indulging in fraudulent practices. We advise selecting among FCA-regulated brokerages, ASIC-regulated or Swiss FINMA-regulated brokers, where the respective financial authorities are always on alert and your money will be safe and protected.

Capital Swiss FX Update

We found the Capital Swiss FX 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 CFDs100 Scam or Legit Broker?

No, it is not safe to trade with CFDs100. It is owned and operated by CCLR Solutions Limited and claims to be located in Tallinn, Estonia. However it I not regulated in the country. 

• Vanuatu 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 IC Finance, 70 Trades, and more.

   

What is CFDs100?

CFDs100 offers clients across the globe an opportunity to invest in over 1,000 world-class assets including forex, stocks, commodities, indices, and cryptocurrencies.​ According to the website, the Company is registered in Estonia under the Companies Law, with the registered office in Tallinn. However, the broker is not authorized to provide its financial services in Estonia or any other EU country.

• Also, the terms and conditions mention that CFDs100 is actually under the jurisdiction of Vanuatu.
• Moreover, the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority issued a warning against the company in August 2018:

"Finantsinspektsioon (the Estonian Financial Supervisory Authority) would like to inform clients and investors that TRSystem OÜ (registry code 14468050) does not hold an activity license for the provision of investment services in Estonia and therefore TRSystem OÜ is not authorized to provide investment services in Estonia. The company offers the possibility to trade different derivatives through the web page https://www.cfds100.com/."

Also, the brokerage has been blacklisted by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority:

"This firm (TRSystem t/a CFDS100) is not authorized by us and is targeting people in the UK. Based upon information we hold, we believe it is carrying on regulated activities which require authorization."

• Recently, the Austrian regulator Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has issued a warning against CFDs100 (CCLR Solutions Limited):

"CFDS100 LTD (CCLR Solutions Limited) is not authorized to provide banking services or investment services in Austria that require a license. The provider is, therefore, neither permitted to trade on a commercial basis on its own account or on behalf of others nor to provide investment advice."

CFDs100 Review Conclusion

We advise all investors and traders to avoid CFDs100 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.

CFDs100 Update

We found the CFDs100 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 MarketPlus Scam or Legit Broker?

MarketPlus is not a safe broker to invest in.  The main concern is that the company does not hold any license to deliver its trading service either to local or world traders, and is not authorized by any EU regulator. Despite the fact, that any EU financial service company should obtain its legal license that protects clients and maintain the strictest standards, MarketPlus skipped that step.

What is MarketPlus?

MarketPlus is a Forex and CFD broker and trading provider, which operates by Affinity Group Ltd based in Bulgaria.

Typically, unregulated companies use strong marketing programs to onboard new clients, while misleading about their legal side of the operation and attracting high potential incomes. However, retail investors should look carefully at the website and the broker’s offering, as well as check out the firm reputation at least by reading reviews.

• Besides, the industry authorities make serious steps to issue warnings against unregulated companies and protect clients.
• Even though Marketplus didn’t receive an official warning from the world industry it might be coming soon. Also, there are already some negative reviews and claims from the traders that faced serious fraud of the customer rights, while the trades were manipulated and withdrawals were canceled.

MarketPlus Review Conclusion

In conclusion, we would recommend avoiding Marketplus and investing in a more trustworthy company with tight regulation, since the trading itself is a risky investment and it is very important to choose a reliable company. There are many well-regulated companies across Europe, which comply with the necessary customer protection rules and operate financial investments with the applicable safety.  Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as HYCM and AvaTrade.

MarketPlus Update

We found the MarketPlus 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 Novatrades Scam or Legit Broker?

It is NOT SAFE to trade with Novatrades. It is located in the Marshall Islands and is not overseen by the industry authority, therefore maintains operation at its own standards.

• Being located in the famous offshore zone signing with the company may involve significant risk, as simply the potential investor will trust just the word of mouth, not confirmed by any legitimate agency that oversees the business from outside. For that reason, the first and mandatory step while choosing the brokerage is to check their regulatory status and to be sure that the operation is supervised by the legal regulator with the purpose to deliver a safe trading environment.

What is Novatrades?

Novatrades is a brokerage company, financial service and trading provider that is registered in the Marshall Islands, delivers its numerous trading opportunities with a diversified portfolio including Forex, CFDs and Cryptocurrencies.

• However, there are many fraud and scam offerings around the Forex business, while the industry regulators run the continuous monitor of the situation while trying to protect clients by educating them and listing the warnings against potential fraud.
• That was the case of Novatrades broker too, while the company was alerted by the UK’s FCA for the target of the residents without its legal permission to do so.

  “We believe the Novatrades Ltd. With its registered address in Marshall Islands carrying on regulated activities which require authorization, yet have not been authorized by us. We strongly advise you to only deal with financial firms that are authorized by us, and check the Financial Services Register to ensure they are.”

  FCA, UK. September 2018

Novatrades Review Conclusion

We do not recommend trading with Novatrades because of the lack of regulation and safety. Instead, we always recommend to trade only with the reputable and Regulated Forex Brokers that follow strictest international rules and protect clients in case of any issues. Traders should trade with well-regulated brokers such as UK brokers or brokers in Australia and reliable brokers such as FP Markets and TMGM.

Novatrades Update

Based on our research, the Novatrades 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.