Yes they seem to be a scam broker for sure. I opened new account no 235916 on 27th Jan 2015 and first deposit through skrill 100 usd and topped it within few minutes with another 350 usd. Within one hour my scalper EA installed on my friends private server made 160 usd profit and they stopped my account from trading. I got a mail which is reproduced as below.
Ian (OctaFX)
Jan 27, 14:01
Dear Sir,
We have received an information, that your account MIGHT have been involved into fraudulent activity or accessed by third parties intending to do so. We have grounds to believe the documents provided for this account as well as its identity do not belong to the actual account owner.
This is not a statement, but an assumption, which requires investigation in accordance with of our Security Dept. requirements and policies. There is nothing to worry about; it’s a regular check, intended for your funds security and transactions' transparency first of all.
This is to let you know that in accordance with p. 13.12 of the Customer Agreement, namely:
13.12. For security reasons upon withdrawal the Company reserves a right to demand Client’s complete identification data, such as ID copy, address proof copy, bank reference letter and other relevant documents, apostiled or certified by a notary.
In order to withdraw funds from account no. 235916, please follow these steps:
1. Please prepare the following documents:
a. Personal ID/passport copy (all the pages containing records);
b. An address proof, clearly showing residential address.
BOTH TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH, NOTARIZED (OR CERTIFIED WITH AN APOSTILLE STAMP) BY A RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT AGENT.
2. Please send these documents (physically, by mail) to our HQ address at:
Cedar Hill Crest, P.O. Box 1825, Villa, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
3. After the documents are received, case investigated and verified, you will be able to withdraw the funds.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Sincerely,
Ian
See now they nowhere have stated that trading has been disabled and on repeated chat request which they said on chat they have disabled my account from trading they did not send me official mail in spite of repeated requests. I discussed with this guy Ian that where I stay and work as an expatriate, Dubai, UAE documents like passport copy and utlity bills are not notarized and cannot do anything about it. He then said they will accept if my Indian government consulate attests it and utility bill provider stamps the bill. I got both of them done very next day on 28th Jan 2015 and sent them scanned copies to confirm if it is ok then waste my money to courier it to their HO. I got mail saying the documents are accepted by their security department in HO and I should courier to them the original documents. I couriered them through Aramex on same day and it reached them on 3rd Feb at 14 hrs and a guy with the name R Olliver had received it. I started chatting with them again and they stated they have not received. I sent them the aramex courier tracking weblink to show the confirmation. I seconded that by copy pasting the tracking status from Aramex and sent them mail. I have been sending them mails and chatting with them to know what now. Today is 4th day and still they claim it is under investigation. I do not understand as what sort of investigation is this as it is just 2 documents passport copy attested original one and utility bill stamped by the utility company which they have to see if it is in my name.
Yesterday night when I again chatted with one woman called Emma she told my account has been disabled as I broke some client agreement which she posted link. I said it has so many clauses so tell me which clause she says I indulged in arbitrage trading. So I said it is not arbitrage trading and it is a fast scalper custom made which me and my friend use it and as per their website scalping is allowed without any restrictions. I further stated prove to me that I did arbitrage trading she could not say anything further saying the same sentence we cannot do anything till our security department completes investigation. I have sent a mail to their ceo stating my case and the way their customer care is treating me as if i am a criminal.
In short they do not allow me to trade the account nor allow me to withdraw my money. Their intention is not to pay anyone who makes profits and they just want traders to lose and make money and I am sure they are not ECN brokers as if they are they would not mind me making money as they too get their commission in the spreads. I rate them as scam brokers only unless they remove the freeze on my trading and allow me to trade with my scalper or return back my total 610 usd and confirm that they cannot allow me to trade with a valid reason.
Balaji