How Do I Identify A Forex Scam?

There is plenty of opportunity for unscrupulous people to make money fraudulently by launching a forex scam. Unfortunately there are always people who will part with money too fast in the hope of making more. However, we cannot assume that a system has to make money for everybody using it in order to be genuine. So what are the signs of a real scam?

1. Unrealistic claims

All websites that are promoting a forex product or service will try to appeal to your wish to make money. That is what forex trading is about, after all. But if a site promises to make you millions of dollars virtually overnight no matter who you are and without requiring any work on your part, stay clear.

2. Huge earnings on trading account screenshots

It is also common for sites to provide images of their own trading account results to convince you that their system makes money. This is standard practice. A scammer will fake the screenshots using Photoshop, and it is pretty much impossible to tell.

So although having screenshots on the site is not in itself a problem, you shouldn't pay much attention to them. Even if they are not faked, you don't know that the person followed the exact system you are buying in order to obtain those results ... and even if the figures are 100% genuine, it certainly does not mean that you will achieve the same results.

3. No guarantee

There should be a money back guarantee on any product and you should not have to jump through hoops to get it. Look for a "no questions" guarantee rather than something that says you must have followed all instructions to the letter before you can qualify for a refund. Following the instructions may include investing more money than you have.

If you are buying a downloadable product such as an ebook or expert advisor, you can trust anything that is sold by Clickbank as far as refunds are concerned. Clickbank will always refund these items within 58 days of your purchase.

If you are looking at a membership site or a service, refunds on past payments may not be offered because of the time that the company will have put in to providing the service for you during the time that you were a member. However, you should check that you can cancel at any time without incurring further charges. Don't sign up for something that locks you in to a contract for 6 or 12 months.

4. Bad press in the forums

All products will show you recommendations and testimonials from satisfied customers. If you want to be sure you can ask for evidence that they are real, and a genuine business will usually find a way for you to contact the person if there is not already a link given along with the testimonial.

But even the worst trading system will have some users who were just lucky. What you want to know is what the unsatisfied customers are saying. There will be some for every product, no matter how good, and you need to find them and sift through their comments. Are they just unhappy because they didn't make a million dollars overnight, or was there a genuine problem with the product? Search for them in online forums to get a clear idea of which products are worthwhile and which ones might be a forex scam.