the forex -is total scam?

How "safe" investing in forex is entirely up to you. The truth is, in every investment, there is some risk to it - even if it is very little. The risks in forex trading are of course, that you can blow out your entire account if you don't know what you are doing. Trading - like every other investment - requires a lot of studying, practice, hardwork and patience.

The discussion is not concerning the actual trading being profitable or not.
The subject is that some brokers try to scam the traders with unfair methods and even worst, some disapear with the investors money!
 
True. The problem is that many new trader can't tell the difference between their own bad risk management and deliberate broker manipulation and theft.

First, you need to have a clue about trading. Otherwise, you won't be able to tell what really happened to your money.

Second, read the broker's TOS. When you open an account, you are agreeing to those terms, no matter how unfair they are. If you sign a contract that says "The Broker can cancel any trade for any reason, at any time.", then you won't be likely to win if you drag them into court (if you can find them) for canceling all of your profitable trades. Most broker TOS agreements are not very friendly to traders, but some are nothing short of an agreement to allow the broker to rob you blind.

Even with more rational TOS, a lot of brokers have minimum duration of trade. This means the broker isn't hedging itself against the market very quickly (and is obviously a bucketshop). If you trade long term, this isn't an issue. The problem is that the definition of scalping varies between brokers and can require a minimum trade lengthy anywhere from 15 seconds to over 30 minutes.

If you usually close your trades in less than 10 seconds and sign an agreement that gives your broker the right to close trades held for less than 10 minutes, you've just been scammed - by yourself.
 
How "safe" investing in forex is entirely up to you. The truth is, in every investment, there is some risk to it - even if it is very little. The risks in forex trading are of course, that you can blow out your entire account if you don't know what you are doing. Trading - like every other investment - requires a lot of studying, practice, hardwork and patience.
Thank you guys! I got more general problem. There are some nice money here, and I'd like to increase 'em. I'm not feeling enough qualified to manage them. Too big responsibility...
 
First of all, chose a broker that is properly regulated. Avoid brokers registered in countries where regulations are not strict enough. Not many russian brokers are regulated as you said and those that are regulated are market makers like UWCFX.
 
True. The problem is that many new trader can't tell the difference between their own bad risk management and deliberate broker manipulation and theft.

First, you need to have a clue about trading. Otherwise, you won't be able to tell what really happened to your money.

Second, read the broker's TOS. When you open an account, you are agreeing to those terms, no matter how unfair they are. If you sign a contract that says "The Broker can cancel any trade for any reason, at any time.", then you won't be likely to win if you drag them into court (if you can find them) for canceling all of your profitable trades. Most broker TOS agreements are not very friendly to traders, but some are nothing short of an agreement to allow the broker to rob you blind.

Even with more rational TOS, a lot of brokers have minimum duration of trade. This means the broker isn't hedging itself against the market very quickly (and is obviously a bucketshop). If you trade long term, this isn't an issue. The problem is that the definition of scalping varies between brokers and can require a minimum trade lengthy anywhere from 15 seconds to over 30 minutes.

If you usually close your trades in less than 10 seconds and sign an agreement that gives your broker the right to close trades held for less than 10 minutes, you've just been scammed - by yourself.

Hello!
I started to do like you advised - chosen some brokers and asked them for agreements(not TOS!) i have to sign but most of them refused. Why? May be I don't understand something? I offers my money have i right to know who to?
 
Hello!
I started to do like you advised - chosen some brokers and asked them for agreements(not TOS!) i have to sign but most of them refused. Why? May be I don't understand something? I offers my money have i right to know who to?


Nobody understands what you mean by " not TOS ! ". The TOS are the Terms of Service. They are the agreement and you will never get any other " agreement " than the documents posted by the broker on their website. They will not tailor their contract specifically for you. It s always a " take it or leave it " offer. Read carefully and, if you re not satisfied with certain clauses, just move on to another broker. There is no need to insist on signatures: electronic contracts are legal. Just keep a copy of the TOS version as it was when you became a client in case they modify the TOS later without sending you an email to inform you in advance that they are changing TOS starting at a certain date.

Yes, you must ABSOLUTELY know to whom you send your money, but that does not mean you should insist to get individual names with their signature. What you need to know is about a COMPANY, not about PERSONS, Verify the COMPANY. Does it have a valid address that you can verify ( not a virtual office ). Is the company regulated in a good jurisdiction ? Do they have a LICENCE to operate as Forex broker ? Will your funds be SEGREGATED from the broker s own funds ?

All those are legitimate questions. If you verified that the broker is properly registered as a forex broker in the country where he has his principal place of business, you have some protection. But not all countries are equal. Some have stricter regulations than others. An address in a certain country is not a proof the broker detains a licence from that country either. If the broker is regulated, he will proudly display his licence number and regulatory body on his website making verification easy. If you ever need to know the names of the shareholders/directors of the company, those informations are stored by the regulatory body and they are available on demand.

You need to know about PERSONS when you are becoming a client of an INDIVIDUAL who will act as a FINANCIAL ADVISOR and will directly manage your account for you. Then, verify that the person is properly licenced and is allowed to invest funds for his clients. Or you might want to know about a person if that person sells his EXPERTISE as a Forex signal provider ( most are self-named " experts " ). Then try to know as much you can about his track record and competence. Such person does not need a licence if he never handles your funds directly and only gives you trade signals ( that you are free to follow or not using your own judgment ).

Then simply click the " I agree " button; send your scanned identification documents and that s it. Both you and the broker are in a binding agreement.

Now, let me tell you frankly that you are not quite ready to trade Forex. Just open a DEMO account and practice with virtual money for a minimum of 3 months. That is mandatory target practice for all Forex Peace Army recruits.
 
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Nobody understands what you mean by " not TOS ! ". The TOS are the Terms of Service. They are the agreement and you will never get any other " agreement " than the documents posted by the broker on their website. They will not tailor their contract specifically for you. It s always a " take it or leave it " offer. Read carefully and, if you re not satisfied with certain clauses, just move on to another broker. There is no need to insist on signatures: electronic contracts are legal. Just keep a copy of the TOS version as it was when you became a client in case they modify the TOS later without sending you an email to inform you in advance that they are changing TOS starting at a certain date.

Yes, you must ABSOLUTELY know to whom you send your money, but that does not mean you should insist to get individual names with their signature. What you need to know is about a COMPANY, not about PERSONS, Verify the COMPANY. Does it have a valid address that you can verify ( not a virtual office ). Is the company regulated in a good jurisdiction ? Do they have a LICENCE to operate as Forex broker ? Will your funds be SEGREGATED from the broker s own funds ?

All those are legitimate questions. If you verified that the broker is properly registered as a forex broker in the country where he has his principal place of business, you have some protection. But not all countries are equal. Some have stricter regulations than others. An address in a certain country is not a proof the broker detains a licence from that country either. If the broker is regulated, he will proudly display his licence number and regulatory body on his website making verification easy. If you ever need to know the names of the shareholders/directors of the company, those informations are stored by the regulatory body and they are available on demand.

You need to know about PERSONS when you are becoming a client of an INDIVIDUAL who will act as a FINANCIAL ADVISOR and will directly manage your account for you. Then, verify that the person is properly licenced and is allowed to invest funds for his clients. Or you might want to know about a person if that person sells his EXPERTISE as a Forex signal provider ( most are self-named " experts " ). Then try to know as much you can about his track record and competence. Such person does not need a licence if he never handles your funds directly and only gives you trade signals ( that you are free to follow or not using your own judgment ).

Then simply click the " I agree " button; send your scanned identification documents and that s it. Both you and the broker are in a binding agreement.

Now, let me tell you frankly that you are not quite ready to trade Forex. Just open a DEMO account and practice with virtual money for a minimum of 3 months. That is mandatory target practice for all Forex Peace Army recruits.

Thank you for complete information. It is very useful for me...
 
At the end of the day everybody gets traded against somewhere down the line.

I often wonder where retail traders think the money they win comes from!

Focus on fast execution and low requote rates. Of course STP is better but dont get hung up like alot of people on here.
 
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