Avoiding Forex Scams

How do I avoid being scammed?

There are a number of Forex-related scams enticing clients from South Africa, and we get emails frequently from traders who have been unable to withdraw money from their accounts or facing other forms of resistance from brokers whose sole purpose is to have clients deposit, and then refuse to refund the money.

There are some steps you can take to protect yourself.

1. Never give money to someone to trade on your behalf. It is illegal in South Africa for anyone to invest on your behalf without a licence from the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA). 
2. Never send money to people you meet on social media, in our research we have found that over 50% of Forex scams start on Facebook and Instagram.
3. Never trust any broker or person offering guaranteed returns. Forex trading is high-risk speculation and profits are never guaranteed.
4. Always check whether a broker is regulated. Regulated brokers are required to publish their licence numbers on their websites. See below for Khwezitrade’s Financial Service Provider (FSP) number across the bottom of their website:
5. Once you know a broker’s FSP or licence number, check with the regulator to see if the broker’s licence number is legitimate. The FSCA in South Africa keeps a register of all licenced Financial Services Providers (FSPs). From 2021 all Forex brokers based in South Africa must hold an ODP licence, you can also check the FSCA’s register of all licenced Over-the-Counter Derivative Providers (ODPs).
6. If your broker is not based in South Africa, other major regulators such as the FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia) and CySEC (Europe) all have searchable registers.

I think I have been scammed, what should I do now?

If you believe you are a victim of a scam broker, the first step you should take is to contact your local regulator and make a complaint. In South Africa, you can contact the FSCA here. If your complaint is regarding a licenced South African broker, you can also contact the FAIS Ombudsman here.

We also collect information on scam brokers and Forex traders in South Africa. Please let us know your experience using the form below.

What we will do with your information:

• We collect answers from lots of traders and where we see a trend, we will conduct research into the broker in question and publish those results. Your voice matters a lot here.
• We reserve the right to use your story for informative purposes on this website and that we will anonymise all names.

• Publish your personal details.  We may share your story, but will never attribute the comments to any one individual. Your privacy is respected.
• Smear brokers where we can not find evidence of wrongdoing.
• Represent individuals to help you recover your funds. We are not lawyers and don’t have the ability to do this.  We are just a public warning system.