Pharaoh
Brigadier General
- Messages
- 20,307
Step 1. Have you really been scammed?
If someone claims they've never had a losing trading, they fit into one of three categories.
1. They are not well connected to reality. (Not a scam, but you will lose money.)
2. They haven't been trading long and are overconfident. (It's not a scam, but this WILL end badly.)
3. They are lying to make themselves look good and/or to help them convince gullible victims to believe a scam is safe. (Absolutely a scam.)
Quite simply, in the real world, even the best traders have losing trades. Every famous trader you have ever heard of (including Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger) have made bad trades.
Why did I bother bringing this up? Simple. Although there are evil scumbag brokers who will try to slip your entries and exits to take an extra 20 cents out of your account, you WILL lose plenty of trades all by yourself. If you believe you've got a no-lose system (purchased or self-developed) because you're crazy or over confident (or gullible enough to believe someone else's no-lose claims) and place too large of positions with too little money in your account, it's only a matter of time until price goes the wrong way (from your point of view) and wipes out your account. When that happens, teven the worst broker didn't need to lift a finger to scam you. Instead, you threw away your money all by yourself. Make SURE you understand at least a little about Risk Management before trying to trade forex (or anything else).
Similarly, even if there was a signals service which averaged trades gaining $200 for every $100 lost and if they won 3 out of 4 trades, you can still easily blow your account. Think for a moment. If you only have $200 in your account and risk $100 on each trade from this service, what happens if the next 2 trades both lose? That's right - your account balance is zero and they never promised that 2 losses in a row wasn't possible. No one scammed you. You did it to yourself.
If you buy an EA, ask about licenses first. You want to be able to test it on a demo account to see if it's worth risking on a live account. You also want to make sure the EA doesn't automatically massively increase your risk if it gets into a trade and the trend goes against it. You need to get an idea of how it performs and what the settings do BEFORE you put it on a live money account. Be careful. Some EA sellers lock the software to only one account number. If you want to move it from demo to live or from one live account to another, you need to know if this will cost you more money or not. If you fail to read the Terms of Service and the company clearly disclosed that its a non-transferrable license for one account, then they didn't scam you by asking for another license fee when you decided it was time to change accounts.
But then there are the real scams:
If you bought a product with a no questions asked 90 day refund policy and they refuse a refund on day 60, that sounds like a clear case of scam to me. If an investment plan promises 10% per month every month, even if they pay, it's a really a type of scam known as a Ponzi Scheme. If your broker refuses to process withdrawals or demands surprise taxes or fees that must be paid before processing your withdrawal, that's a major sign of scam.
But there are grey areas. If a price spike cost you money and was not visible on the charts of several other brokers, it could be a scam, or it could be an error the company hasn't even noticed yet. Gather your evidence before contacting the broker. If the wording of the terms on an item or service seem vague, gather evidence before contacting them (and KICK YOURSELF for not asking before paying). If your withdrawal is 1 day late, relax and wait. If your withdrawal is 3-4 days late, gather evidence and prepare to contact the broker. If executions of trades seem slower and slower, you can ask support for ideas first. If that doesn't help, gather evidence before doing anything else.
If someone claims they've never had a losing trading, they fit into one of three categories.
1. They are not well connected to reality. (Not a scam, but you will lose money.)
2. They haven't been trading long and are overconfident. (It's not a scam, but this WILL end badly.)
3. They are lying to make themselves look good and/or to help them convince gullible victims to believe a scam is safe. (Absolutely a scam.)
Quite simply, in the real world, even the best traders have losing trades. Every famous trader you have ever heard of (including Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger) have made bad trades.
Why did I bother bringing this up? Simple. Although there are evil scumbag brokers who will try to slip your entries and exits to take an extra 20 cents out of your account, you WILL lose plenty of trades all by yourself. If you believe you've got a no-lose system (purchased or self-developed) because you're crazy or over confident (or gullible enough to believe someone else's no-lose claims) and place too large of positions with too little money in your account, it's only a matter of time until price goes the wrong way (from your point of view) and wipes out your account. When that happens, teven the worst broker didn't need to lift a finger to scam you. Instead, you threw away your money all by yourself. Make SURE you understand at least a little about Risk Management before trying to trade forex (or anything else).
Similarly, even if there was a signals service which averaged trades gaining $200 for every $100 lost and if they won 3 out of 4 trades, you can still easily blow your account. Think for a moment. If you only have $200 in your account and risk $100 on each trade from this service, what happens if the next 2 trades both lose? That's right - your account balance is zero and they never promised that 2 losses in a row wasn't possible. No one scammed you. You did it to yourself.
If you buy an EA, ask about licenses first. You want to be able to test it on a demo account to see if it's worth risking on a live account. You also want to make sure the EA doesn't automatically massively increase your risk if it gets into a trade and the trend goes against it. You need to get an idea of how it performs and what the settings do BEFORE you put it on a live money account. Be careful. Some EA sellers lock the software to only one account number. If you want to move it from demo to live or from one live account to another, you need to know if this will cost you more money or not. If you fail to read the Terms of Service and the company clearly disclosed that its a non-transferrable license for one account, then they didn't scam you by asking for another license fee when you decided it was time to change accounts.
But then there are the real scams:
If you bought a product with a no questions asked 90 day refund policy and they refuse a refund on day 60, that sounds like a clear case of scam to me. If an investment plan promises 10% per month every month, even if they pay, it's a really a type of scam known as a Ponzi Scheme. If your broker refuses to process withdrawals or demands surprise taxes or fees that must be paid before processing your withdrawal, that's a major sign of scam.
But there are grey areas. If a price spike cost you money and was not visible on the charts of several other brokers, it could be a scam, or it could be an error the company hasn't even noticed yet. Gather your evidence before contacting the broker. If the wording of the terms on an item or service seem vague, gather evidence before contacting them (and KICK YOURSELF for not asking before paying). If your withdrawal is 1 day late, relax and wait. If your withdrawal is 3-4 days late, gather evidence and prepare to contact the broker. If executions of trades seem slower and slower, you can ask support for ideas first. If that doesn't help, gather evidence before doing anything else.
