Medeforex wants us to believe it is a “multi-award winning forex provider”, operating in some of the leading global financial centers. But these boasts do not stand up to scrutiny. Medeforex is not a licensed and regulated broker, and the trading services it claims to offer are entirely fictitious. It is in your best interest to stay away from Medeforex.
MEDEFOREX REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS
MEDE Global Limited is listed as the owner and operator of Medeforex. There are three versions of where this company is based. The main page of the website claims that it is an Australian broker, with different dates for the start of its activity there – 2006 or 2008. However, a check of the Australian Securities and Exchanges Commission (ASIC) database shows that there is no company by that name licensed as a broker.
In the “Regulatory License” section, we see a different statement – that Medeforex is licensed to offer financial services in the United States. To operate as a forex broker in the United States, a company must be registered as a futures commission merchant and foreign exchange dealer with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and to be a member of the National Futures Association (NFA).
The NFA register shows that although there is a company called MEDE Global Limited it is not a member of the NFA and is not subject to NFA oversight. This company is only registered with exemptions for commodity pool operator and commodity trading advisor, which prevents it from providing financial services in the U.S. This is a way of simulating credibility used by many fraudsters.
Finally, the trading platform‘s registration information states that MEDE Global Limited is based in the UK. There is a company by that name registered in England, but it is not a broker. To offer financial services in the UK, a company must be licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A check of the regulator’s register shows that this is not the case with MEDE Global Limited:
Before investing money in the financial markets, you should first make sure that the broker you choose is indeed licensed by regulators such as FCA, CFTC, ASIC or some EU regulator like Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). Clients of these brokers receive protections such as negative balance protection and segregation of the client‘s funds from the broker’s funds.
In the EU and the UK, brokers must also participate in guarantee schemes that cover a certain amount of the traders investment if the broker becomes insolvent. These guarantees amount to up to 20 000 EUR in the EU and 85 000 GBP in the UK. However, the likelihood of such a bankruptcy is low because regulators also have significant net capital requirements that companies must maintain – EUR 730 000 in UK and Cyprus, AUD 1000 000 in Australia and at least 20 million USD in the United States.
MEDEFOREX TRADING SOFTWARE
Although it is obviously a fake broker, Medeforex uses a real trading platform, MetaTrader 5 (MT5). But that doesnt make it any more legitimate. Many scammers use trading software to fool you into thinking your money is really being invested.
You could always use the services of a regulated broker, the vast majority of which offer clients MT5 or the still very popular MT4. This will enable you to use the advanced features of these platforms without fear of being scammed. These platforms are preferred by the majority of brokers around the world because of their powerful automated trading capabilities, including Expert Advisor bots and customized scripts for backtesting trading strategies.
MEDEFOREX TRADING CONDITIONS
Legitimate brokers offer different account types tailored to the needs of traders with different capital, experience and investment intentions. There are no descriptions of different account types on the Medeforex website. Information about the terms of the purported trading is sketchy and only further demonstrates that Medeforex could not be a regulated broker.
The stated leverage of 1:500 is not permitted in any of the jurisdictions in which Medeforex claims to be licensed. The FCA, like EU regulators, limits leverage to 1:30 for trading in major currency pairs and even lower levels for more volatile assets. The same rules currently apply to Australia. In the US, the maximum limit is slightly higher at 1:50.
The website states that Medeforex allows you to start trading with 200 USD. Many of the leading brokers offer micro accounts with an even lower deposit, often under 100 USD. Needless to say, this is the better choice.
In the MT5 platform, we see a very low spread of 0.5 pips, but that doesnt really matter – as pointed out, trading on Medeforex is fictitious.
Medeforex does not have Terms and Conditions or any kind of legal documentation. Not only is this another indication that scammers are behind this website, but it also means that you dont know who you are dealing with and what the deal is. This is not acceptable when your money is on the line.
MEDEFOREX DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES
Medeforex claims to accept payment methods such as credit cards, bank transfer and a host of popular e-wallets such as Skrill, Neteller, FasaPay and POLi. However, at the time of writing this review, the deposit menu did not allow a choice of payment method. Scammers like Medeforex never use conventional methods. Instead, they rely on shady providers, and most often on cryptocurrencies that do not allow refunds.
HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK
The idea of passive income is increasingly attractive to more and more people. The Internet gives the impression that making money through investments in the financial markets is more accessible than ever to non-experts. But the online space is full of scammers who lure inexperienced wannabe traders through flashy advertisements and fake testimonials from satisfied clients. However, these fake brokers dont really invest the money you give them – even though they very confidently assure you that you are generating great profits and should invest even more.
But when you try to withdraw some of your supposed winnings or deposit, it turns out to be impossible. Scammers will tell you that a sudden change in the market has wiped out all your money, or point you to vague clauses in the Terms and Conditions that require a huge minimum volume traded. The victim of such a scam may also be surprised with hidden fees and taxes amounting to tens of percentages of their funds.
Holding fraudsters accountable is difficult because they operate through offshore companies that are uncontrolled and unregulated. In addition, scammers require that you provide them with a copy of your ID and proof of address so that they can claim that all transactions were voluntary and agreed upon by both parties.
WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED
First of all, you should know that there is another kind of scammers who prey on victims of fake brokers. They claim they can refund your money for an upfront fee. The most realistic option to get at least some of your money back is to request a chargeback, but this is only possible if you used a credit or debit card for the transactions. Scammers usually insist on using cryptocurrencies, direct bank transfers or shady online payment platforms where refunds are impossible.
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