IC Markets
Most forex scams are not subtle once you know the pattern. They share a small set of traits: no real regulation, a company you cannot identify, withdrawals that stall, promises that no real market delivers, and payment instructions that route money to a person rather than a firm. This guide is a checklist. Run it before you deposit, and again if something about your current broker feels wrong.
1. Regulation, verified on the regulator's own site
Find the broker's legal company name and licence number, usually in the website footer or a "Legal" or "Regulation" page. Then go directly to the named regulator's website, not a link from the broker, and search the register. Confirm the entity exists, the licence covers dealing in derivatives or CFDs, the status is active, and the entity name matches the one on your account agreement. The licence-check guide walks through this step by step.
- No licence number anywhere: treat as unregulated.
- A licence number that returns nothing on the regulator's site: fake.
- A real licence, but for advice only, not for dealing: the entity may not be your actual counterparty.
- A real licence in one entity, but your account is with an offshore sister company: you have offshore protection, not the advertised one.
2. Can you identify the company?
A legitimate broker names its operating entity, its registration number, and its registered address. You should be able to look that company up in the relevant companies registry. A scam broker typically hides behind a brand name with no company details, a virtual office address, or a registration in a jurisdiction with no financial regulation at all. If you cannot answer "who exactly am I sending money to", stop.
3. The withdrawal record
Search the broker's name with the words "withdrawal", "scam", and "not paying", and read the one and two-star reviews on independent sites rather than the broker's own testimonials. A pattern of unresolved withdrawal complaints, especially ones describing new document requests each time or a fee demanded to release funds, is the clearest single signal. One-off complaints happen to every broker; a consistent pattern does not.
4. The promises
| Claim | Reality |
|---|---|
| Guaranteed returns, or a fixed monthly percentage | No real market guarantees a return; this is a Ponzi or theft structure |
| A personal "account manager" who trades for you | Managing your money for a share needs a discretionary licence almost no one holds |
| Celebrity or public-figure endorsement of an automated system | Those videos are AI-generated; no legitimate figure endorses trading bots |
| "Deposit now, the bonus ends tonight" | Urgency is a manipulation tactic, not a market condition |
| Recover your losses if you deposit more | Loss-recovery offers are a second scam targeting existing victims |
5. The payment methods
A real broker takes payment to a company bank account, a named card processor, or an established e-wallet, all inside its own platform. Warning signs: instructions to send money to a personal account, a friend's account, a random e-wallet handle, or a crypto address given by a person over chat. If the destination is an individual rather than the company, it is a scam regardless of how professional the website looks.
6. The website and domain
- Check the domain age with a WHOIS lookup. A brand claiming a long track record on a domain registered three months ago is lying.
- Look for a clone: a site copying a known broker's name, branding, and even licence details. Verify contact details against the real broker's official global site.
- Check for a real risk warning and full terms. Scam sites often have thin or missing legal pages.
- Be wary of a site that only works through a specific referral link or app you were sent.
Ade was about to deposit with a broker a WhatsApp contact recommended. The site had no company name, the "licence" number returned nothing on the regulator's database, and a domain lookup showed the site was two months old. That contact turned out to be paid to recruit. Ade opened an account with a broker whose licence he verified on the regulator's own register instead, and did a small test withdrawal in the first week.
If you have already deposited and now see these signs, stop sending money immediately, do not pay any "fee" or "tax" to recover funds, save every message and screenshot, and report the operation to the relevant financial regulator and the police. Loss-recovery services that contact you afterwards are almost always a follow-on scam.
The ten-minute check
- Find the company name and licence number on the site.
- Verify the licence on the regulator's own website, and confirm the entity matches your agreement.
- Look the company up in a companies registry.
- Search reviews for withdrawal complaints and read the negative ones.
- Check the promises against the table above.
- Confirm deposits go to a company, through the platform, never to a person.
- Run a WHOIS lookup on the domain.
- Do a small deposit and a test withdrawal before funding properly.
Almost every scam fails at least one item on this list, usually the licence check and the payment method. Verifying the licence on the regulator's own site takes three minutes and screens out most fake brokers before you have risked anything. The single most reliable habit after that is a small test withdrawal in your first week, while the amount at stake is trivial.
Frequently asked
How can I tell if my forex broker is a scam?
Verify its licence on the regulator's own website, confirm you can identify the operating company, check independent reviews for a pattern of withdrawal complaints, judge the promises against what a real market delivers, and confirm deposits go to a company through the platform rather than to a person. Any one failure is a reason to stop.
Is an unregulated forex broker automatically a scam?
Not automatically, but it removes your protection: no regulator supervises your account, no complaints process, and no enforced client-money segregation. The risk is high enough that for most traders an unregulated broker is not worth using.
What is the biggest single red flag?
Being asked to pay a fee, a tax, or an additional deposit to release your own withdrawal. No legitimate broker ever requires this. It is a definitive scam signal.
The broker shows a licence number. Is it safe?
Only if the number checks out on the regulator's own register, the licence covers dealing in CFDs or derivatives, the status is active, and the licensed entity is the same one named in your account agreement. Scam brokers display fake or borrowed licence numbers.
I already deposited and now I am worried. What should I do?
Try a small withdrawal now. If it stalls or you are asked to pay to release it, stop depositing, save all records, and report the broker to the relevant regulator and police. Do not use any loss-recovery service that contacts you.