BinaryOptionsThatSuck.com Ultimate Anti-Scam Guide
Don’t Let the Scam Get You! Ultimate Stay Safe Guide.
Wild animals eat raw meat… and scammers well, scammers eat people. Now think of this: if a guy would go into the African jungle dressed in a raw meat suit and smells like bacon cologne, would you blame the animals if they’d eat him? I would say no, because you can’t blame the rain for getting you wet, the sun for making you hot or wild animals far eating a guy in a meat suit. Heck, I wouldn’t even blame the animals if a guy walks into a jungle all alone without this silly suit. We’re all easy targets for the wild beasts. Next time you enter a jungle, go with a guide and a weapon in hand. If it rains on you, just get out of the rain if you don’t want to get wet. Same with the sun, the raw meat suit and the scammers. If you don’t want to get scammed, don’t dangle your wallet in front of scammers. This is our ultimate guide on how to stay safe in the Binary Options jungle.
Do NOT Wear A Meat Suit in the Jungle!
Yes, there are scammers out there – I’d be crazy to say there weren’t – but you can easily avoid them if you use your common sense and if you follow a few simple rules. I don’t want to frighten you, but if you don’t know what you’re doing you are going to be an easy prey. I’ve tried to put together an easy guide to assist you in your journey, based on my 5 years experience in Binary Options trading and over a dozen years trading online. Take it easy!
Do A Basic Search.
This is a must whether you are looking for a broker, a signal service provider or trading software. Whenever money is involved, you should check to see who you are dealing with. It’s common sense, really. If you would walk down the street and a total stranger would ask you for money, would you just give it to him or would you first ask who he is? Don’t answer that, I know the answer. So before you do anything, do a quick Google search but pay attention to a little thing: the first results (the ones at the top of the page) are always paid ads so don’t be fooled by them. Ignore the paid ads and use keywords like “scam”, “complaints”, “review” etc. Also, keep in mind that a lot of websites claim they’re “on to scam” but when you visit you realize there’s no mention of a scam, just fake reviews meant to make you deposit to a broker, subscribe to a signal provider or pay for some magic indicator. Another warning sign is the lack of user comments or if most of them are positive. I am not saying that positive comments are a bad thing but come on, if all you can find is “This rocks” or “They are awesome” without some actual details, then you should look on another website as well. One of the most respectable websites for such reviews and user-comments is http://www.forexpeacearmy.com and of course thatsucks.com but hey, you’re reading this on our website so you already know about us.
Regulated or Not?
Regulation for the broker you are trading with is very important because if something goes wrong, you can complain to their regulators and ask for assistance in solving your problem. Dealing with a broker that’s not regulated is like living in a state or country where there’s no police. Does it automatically mean you’re going to get robbed? Nope, but if it happens, nobody will protect you. A word of advice for U.S. traders: soon regulated brokers will be available for you but until that happens, you are more vulnerable to scam so choose only our top brokers. If some broker tries to scam you, tell us about it and immediately contact your account manager – tell him you’re going to do a chargeback. I’m sure they’ll quickly help you! If not – contact your Credit Card Company. There’s a lot to talk about regulation and I am sure you will find these articles useful if you want to find out more: Introduction To Binary Options Regulation and The Binary Regulation Shuffle.
Terms And Conditions: Do I Have To?
Yes, you have to read them. It’s boring, it’s tedious but it will save you a lot of headache afterwards. But you know what? I’m almost certain you won’t read the whole T&C document of all the brokers you think of opening an account with, so here are just a few important things you must look out for:
- Bonus related restrictions. In case you have accepted a bonus, almost all binary options brokers require you to trade a certain volume before you can withdraw. This is normal, but make sure you know what volume you have to trade. Also, keep in mind that some brokers don’t allow you to withdraw even your money before the turnover has been reached. Here’s more info on bonuses: Binary Options Bonuses – My Goodness, Too Many Promotions!
- Withdrawal rules/issues: what identification you need, are there restrictions, and are there any fees? Is there a minimum withdrawal amount?
- Additional fees – did you know some brokers charge you a handling fee if you don’t trade at all? Did you how that some brokers can take all the money in your account if you don’t trade for a long period (7 to 12 months)? Oh you didn’t know? See why you have to check the Terms and Conditions?
- Last but not least, if you are planning to trade big sums, check the broker’s maximum position size.
Bottom line is – reading the T&C won’t save you from scam but at least it will make you understand the broker’s rules. Also, it’s a good way of seeing who you’re dealing with. If the broker has strange or confusing rules, don’t even bother opening an account. Understand the risks BEFORE opening an account and depositing. Here is an article that will help you get a better picture: Binary Options Terms and Conditions.
Are You The Next Michael Bay?
Record your trading. OK this is for the conspiracy lovers among us , but the fact is that a lot of brokers manipulate their price feed. I’m not talking about the well-respected, regulated brokers but there are a lot of cases in which brokers messed with the expiry time resulting in losses for their clients. Avoid this by choosing only reliable brokers. Another reason to record your trading is to learn from your mistakes. Here’s some good, free software to help you record your trading: http://prntscr.com/ and http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/
Pay Attention Who You’re Following, or Pay the Price
Next we’re going to talk about signal service providers. They’re not all bad but most of them are, so be extra careful when subscribing to such a service because most of them require you to trade only with their recommended brokers. Let’s just say that what they “recommend” is not always the best for traders so if you want to follow a signal seller, at least choose your broker first and don’t let them make the choice for you. Try to avoid autotraders/bots or software you don’t know anything about except that it was created by a “German Banker” or by some sort of trading Guru. If you take any trading signals at least take manual signals only. If you are not already bored, read some more: The Five Commandments You Need to Know in Order to Avoid Signal Service Providers Scams.
Go on an Adventure
Don’t let the fear of being scammed keep you away from trading binary options. If we would give in to our fears we wouldn’t go out of the house, we wouldn’t drive a car and wouldn’t go to the movies anymore because… well, something might happen. So, bottom line is: trade but make sure you take all necessary precautions before you deposit money. Read stuff, ask questions, educate yourself and then you’ll know how to avoid a scam. And before you venture on your journey, read one last article: 6 Simple Ways to Know that it’s a Binary Options Scam
Keep Reading!
- Stay Safe Guide by Okane
- Why You See So Many Complaints?
- SlideShare – How to Minimize the Risk of Being Scammed?