Avoiding Forex-Related Frauds and Scams

Marquez, author of The Part-Time Currency Trader, wants you to take precautions when shopping around for forex brokers.

A lot of people have been ‘burnt' from scam operations on the Internet. Their sites may look so perfectly legitimate that you doubt whether they would have gone through all that trouble building a trading platform just to steal your money. Beware.


The first thing I look for is the geographical location of the broker. If I find that they are based in a country where the financial industry is, in my opinion, relatively unregulated and under-developed, I quickly forgo signing up. This is terrible news for honest brokers in those countries, but your job as a trader is to protect your capital. If you lose that, then you cannot trade. The onus is on them to convince you that they will do the right thing by you as an investor.


I started out with an Australian broker. Currently I am using an American one. I have not tried UK-based brokers but the British financial industry is one of the best. Companies that are based in countries such as Japan , Germany and France are probably just as good too, if their website speaks your language.


Notice any license numbers that they may have registered with regulatory bodies that act like government watchdogs who oversee the finance and investments industries. These are organisations that impose strict rules to safeguard your investment. Some of these rules may include the requirement that brokers segregate all customer funds from the operational funds of the business. Your money is required to be put in highly-reputable banks and the funds are only withdrawn from these accounts upon specific withdrawal requests.


Take note that there are some fake regulatory bodies being thrown around in cyber-space as well. Take a look at how long they have been operating for. Try and search out any reviews or comments made about them. See if you can find forums where traders have discussions about their brokers.


Below is a list of things to keep in mind to help you avoid being a victim of a scam:


• Stay Away From Opportunities That Sound Too Good To Be True

There are people who may have just acquired a large amount of money just and recently are the same and are shopping around for safe investment vehicles. These may include retirees who have access to their retirement funds. It is understandable why retirees would be drawn to ‘high-return, low-risk investments'. This is also what makes them very vulnerable. If you identify yourself to be one of these people, be careful. A lot of deceitful characters are after your money. Furthermore, only allocate a tiny amount of your money to trading until you can start growing it. Not all people can trade successfully, so it is a venture you should take on haphazardly. It is your life savings at risk.

• Avoid Individuals Or Organizations Who Claim To Predict Or Guarantee Large Profits

Any form of trading is hard. Trading currencies is no different. Be wary of statements that make it sound easy. Statements like:

• “Whether the market moves up or down, in the currency market you will make a profit”;

• “Make $1000 per week, every week”;

• “We are out-performing 90% of domestic investments”;

• “You'll make returns of 70% a year”;

• “Here is a no-risk strategy”.

If they could make such returns, why would they even bother letting you know about it.

• Be Wary Of Companies Who Downplay Investment Risks

Hold your wallet tight and zip up your purse when companies say that written risk disclosure agreements are routine formalities imposed by the government. Watch out for statements like:

• “With a $10,000 deposit, the maximum you can lose is $200 to $250 per day”;

• “ We promise to recover any losses you have ”.

• Be Wary Of Companies That Claim To Trade In The ‘Interbank Market'

Do not believe it when some people say that they have access to the ‘Interbank market' or that they can give you access to trade in that market because that's where bargain prices can be obtained. This is not true. The ‘interbank market' is not a place, it is not a physical building. It is simply a loose network of currency transactions that are negotiated between big financial institutions and other large companies.

• Ethnic Minorities Are Often Targeted

Ethnic newspapers and television ‘infomercials' are sometimes used to attract Russian, Chinese and Indian minorities. Sometimes these ads offer so-called ‘job opportunities for account executives to trade foreign currencies', whereby the recruited ‘account executive' is expected to use his own money to trade currencies and would often times be encouraged to recruit members like their friends and family to do the same.

• Seek Out The Company's Background

Check any information you receive to be sure that the company is who they claim to be. If at all possible, try and get the background of the people operating the company. Do not rely solely on oral statements and promises made by the company's employees.

• If You Are In Doubt, It Is Not Worth Risking Your Money

If after trying to solicit information and at the end of it all, you are still in doubt about the credentials of a particular company, my suggestion is to start looking elsewhere.

You may find further information by contacting government ‘watchdogs' because they keep up to date with trends and reports regarding scams and other fraudulent activities. Please check the resource section of this site for the information of organizations that regulate the securities industry, sorted by country. There is also a list of brokers that you may want to look at.

This is an excerpt, modified from the book: The Part-Time Currency Trader.

An Introduction To Forex Trading

Most people have heard of trading, like the New York Stock Exchange, and Forex trading isn’t far off from that. The difference is, is that Forex trading is the trading of currencies, not stocks. It also has a larger volume than stock and bond markets combined! As with stocks, it is a high-risk investment, but it can also have an extremely high return, easily doubling investments in minutes. The best part about Forex trading, is that it is done using a margin. That is, you don’t need the full amount to buy a currency. A Forex trader can buy $100,000.00 with just $1,000.00. This allows traders to make huge profits with minimal investment. And the Forex market is open to all types of investors, not just big organizations, and banks. The best place for an investor to start when considering the Forex market, is the Forex community. Research is key to understanding Forex trading. Consulting Forex forums and community boards can be extremely beneficial. The next thing to do would be to choose a system. A system, is a specially designed method, software, or course developed by professional in Forex trading. There are many systems out there, so research must be dome to make sure the system fits your needs. Before purchasing a system, you should ask them a few questions like, how long have they been in this business, and and if there is a trial version available. Make sure that they have customer testimonials too. By going to Forex forums, and chat rooms, one might be able to find out what system others are using, or what systems are recommended most. Most professional traders believe that having a trading system is an important factor in establishing a stable revenue in the forex market. Systems tell investors when, and what, should be done in each trading situation. Another thing that an investor will need is a broker, to assist with transactions. There’s a wide variety of brokers, so be prepared with questions about their credentials. Ask them about their leverage, and their spread. As these are both determining factors in how much money the investor can make with each investment. The investor may also choose to handle transactions themselves. An investor also needs to master analysis, and form a strategy, to get a competitive edge, and improve their odds. They need to learn to recognize the different factors that affect the Forex market. A person has a much better chance of success at trading forex, if they do their research, and know what to look for. And, in conclusion, it doesn’t matter if a person is experienced or a beginner in the world of Forex!

Are you prepared to currency trade?

Currency trading is the most popular way to earn to money and it is without doubt a very profitable market. However few are familiar with its unpleasant intricacies and most ignore a very important aspect: risk. It is not enough only to be given the chance to invest your money successfully, you have to be careful because Currency trading can be an efficient trading system or it can ruin you.

Why is Currency trading risky?

- Currency trading is very unstable. It is the subject of rapid and overwhelming changes. The market is volatile and it is influenced by political events. - One can loose at any time especially when he has just ventured into Currency trading. Experience, information and attention are necessary.

- Some unexpectedly loose the Risk Capital which sometimes consists of College money, the retirement funds or some other substantial sum that shouldn’t have been considered as Currency trading capital in the first place.

- Fluctuations in currency prices, discrepancies between interest rates in two different countries, insolvency of financial institutions that take part in transactions and limited flow of exotic currencies will most likely lead to loss.

- Large profits and minimal losses are impossible to predict with 100% certainty.

- The Currency trading market has great winning potential, but it also has loss potential. - Misinformation and the emotional baggage are most of the time cause of loss. Use facts, not hope or fear, when Currency trading.

- Sometimes trends can lead to money loss. - Huge leverage is available to traders. This leads to dangerous positions that risk too much in comparison with the size of the account.

- Lacks of money management and of back testing plans are the mistakes that currency traders make sometimes.

- Using brokers is sometimes inefficient because this counterpart can refuse to trade during volatile market conditions affecting the retail trader. They can even widen spreads. However it is recommended to collaborate with a broker, because he can deal in the interbank market and he surely knows more about Currency trading making it safer from other points of view.

- Scams were very common years ago when dealing with a broker. However, one can be confident with the person he is working with by checking their background and the Institutions he is associated with (large banks, important insurance companies). Don’t be frightened! It isn’t all about risks. And don’t start trading in fear! You will loose this way. You just have to keep in mind all possibilities and avoid unwanted situations only you can get yourself into.

All Currency traders have to be very well informed about their activity. They have to know technical analysis and how to read and interpret charts, they have to develop effective strategies and minimize risk. The financial exposure has to be limited and this can be done in many ways available to currency traders who inform themselves. So, educate yourself, be prudent, take risks only when you can handle loss and always be prepared for anything.

And have this in mind:

If Currency trading isn’t profitable then why are so many financial investors, banks, international institutions and important players that obtain huge amounts of cash by simply turning their own money into other currencies?

Forex Currency Trading Online: 5 Steps To Avoid The Common Tragedy

Just like you, every single person that enters Forex currency trading online does so with the sincere intention of making money. Every one, including you. There isn't a single one that intends to lose money, yet the statistic of 90% losing their money is very real.

This is a very sad tragedy that good people experience everyday. The problem isn't that people lack the intelligence or ability, nor is currency trading online impossible to master. It is that they skip steps in their development.

Forex currency trading online offers a very real and very achievable opportunity for those that will simply follow the proper steps to reach their goal of consistent profits and approach the matter in a sensible manner. There are several components to a trader’s development in becoming the confident trader that produces consistent profits.

Gaps in a trader’s education will have to be filled before the end-goal is achieved, just like price gaps as in the markets.

The primary reason that the statistic in currency trading online exists is because those that lose money don't focus on developing themselves and their Forex currency trading online business. They choose to focus almost exclusively on making money right now. Thus the gaps cause them to lose their money before they’ve filled their educational and developmental gaps.

Second-wave traders are people that have blown out their account, or come close enough to realize this, and subsequently take a more business-like and realistic approach to their currency trading online.

So that they can have better chances of success the second (or third) time around, they pay attention to the fact that they missed some steps and now consciously pursue them. They don't want to repeat the vicious cycle of regular and repeated large losses that they experienced as first-wave traders.

There are five steps to avoid the tragedy so commonly found in Forex currency trading online.

Step 1. Develop a thorough understanding of currency trading online. This means what the markets are really about, what drives them, how to read a price chart, how to properly plan trades, how to identify good setups, entries, exits, etc. The basics are essential to master.

Step 2. Seek out the mistakes made by others. There are over 39 different mistakes commonly made by traders. This means that there are numerous opportunities to lose money in currency trading online.

If you don’t make yourself aware of mistakes made by others, then that leaves you open to making them yourself – and you'll pay the price when you make them. Learn from the mistakes of others and save both money and regret.

Step 3. You've heard that you should treat your trading like the business that it is. The problem is that if you haven't run a business before you may not know how to go about it. Any endeavor engaged on a regular basis for profit is a business. Even the government looks at it this way.

The more structured a business is, such as your currency trading online, and the more it includes sensible formalities such as reporting, the more consistent it will become. This is the end goal of most traders – consistent profits – so treating it as a business will surely help in achieving that goal. There are resources available on sites such as YouTube, so seek them out.

Step 4. In addition to having a system for selecting and placing trades, you should systemize what you do in your currency trading online. This goes right along with treating your trading as a business, but in more detail and from more of an operational perspective.

Systemizing what you do will bring repeatability and predictability to your activity, and this is desirable in trading as well.



Step 5. Manage your your emotions as they are often the cause of large losses and missed profits, even for veteran traders. It is not necessary to try to be a inhuman and “turn off” your emotions.

By educating yourself on the psychology of trading to have an understanding of how your emotions play into your decision-making process and what factors affect your currency trading online, this will again help you achieve the goal of consistency.

Forex currency trading online presents a tremendous opportunity for people that will simply approach the endeavor from a business like and long term perspective. Most who enter currency trading online, do so very ignorant of what it takes and this is quite understandable, as it is something totally new to them.

Educate yourself and seek out the developmental resources to help you through these five steps to ensure that you give yourself the best chances of realizing what currency trading online has to offer. Make sure you give yourself a happy ending.