List of binary options scams

Binary options are one of the most popular trading tools among beginners, as they are very easy to learn and you can start trading almost immediately after opening a trading account. But it often happens that inexperienced traders choose brokers who are scammers or so-called “black” binary options brokers, because usually such brokers have the brightest and most tempting advertising on the Internet.

In order to avoid falling for binary options scam brokers, it is worth knowing what methods such fraudulent brokers use and how exactly they can deceive gullible clients, and it would also be a good idea to know the names of companies that have been repeatedly caught in fraud.

Binary options scammers – who are they?

Of course, binary options scammers can also be individuals who try to deceive gullible traders in this way by offering them their paid signals for binary options, but most often the role of binary options scammers is played by unscrupulous brokers who try in every possible way to take over the funds of their clients.

If you take and conduct a basic review of all existing binary options brokers and collect statistics, it will become clear that there are tens of times more black binary options brokers than honest brokerage companies . This is due to the fact that binary options are a financial field, and in this field there have always been a lot of people and organizations who have had the goal of deceiving as many people as possible.

Why are there many times more binary options scammers than bona fide brokers? The answer to this question is very simple - thanks to deception, you can get money from gullible traders and investors much faster.

If a company is going to operate honestly, it will need to:

• Pay out all profits earned by clients . During the first time the company operates, it may be that all funds will be spent on payments to clients and therefore for some time the broker may not receive any profit at all;
• Improve your trading platform . In addition to the fact that the platform should be convenient, tournaments that will be held by the broker can serve as additional advantages. It could also be signals , social trading and, of course, the presence of indicators and graphical tools directly in the terminal;
• Improve trading conditions . This item includes minimum deposits, methods of replenishment and withdrawal of funds, bonuses and promotions , trading assets, types of options and expiration time ranges of binary options ;
• Hire professionals . Uninterrupted and high-quality work of a binary options broker is impossible without specialists who can support the business. These are analysts, managers, programmers, advertising agents and many other professionals in their field.

If a company is going to deceive its clients, then the only people who can work there are managers who will try to “pull” as much money as possible out of a potential client’s wallet.

Also, the platform of a fraudulent broker is almost always of very low quality and with limited functionality, but the broker will always mention that their platform is the most innovative.

And of course, there is no question that such a company will pay profits, especially if it concerns large sums.

Therefore, being a black binary options broker in the short term is much easier than building a serious business.

How to spot a binary options scammer

Of course, newbies and inexperienced traders most often fall for the bait of binary options scam brokers. And black brokers often use the same methods of deception on binary options . The most common can be considered:

• manipulations with quotes;
• manipulations with bonuses;
• closing transactions is not in favor of the trader;
• blocking of accounts.

To understand whether a broker is a scam or not, it is worth comparing its quotes with quotes on reputable resources (for example, with quotes on the TradingView trading platform or our live chart ). And if there are discrepancies of more than 10 points, then you should refuse the services of this binary options broker.

Speaking of bonuses , checking them will not be so easy and with unfamiliar binary options brokers it is generally better to refrain from receiving them at first, since there are quite a few ways to cheat with bonuses.

If a black binary options broker closes trades not in favor of the trader and this happens very often, then any trader will almost immediately notice this, since almost always trades will be closed with a difference of one point or one pip (0.0001 or 0.00001, if you take a five-digit price of most currency pairs).

Blocking trading accounts is the most common practice of binary options scammers. Some of the worst brokers can block the account even at the moment when it was replenished, but this rarely happens, since anyway the deposited funds cannot be withdrawn in any way, and if the trader loses them himself, then he will not be able to make any claims. But if profit is earned and the client wants to withdraw it, the account will be blocked without explanation.

Tips for identifying binary options scammers

Avoiding scammers in the binary options market is difficult, but possible. You can understand that a company works in good faith after successfully withdrawing money from a deposit, but this is not always an indicator of honesty. That being said, there are a few methods for testing the integrity of brokerage service providers that are worth considering when choosing a broker and which can sometimes give a clue as to whether the company is fraudulent:

1. Broker regulation . The first thing you can pay attention to is the broker's license, if you have one. But you should understand that a license is not an indicator of honesty and there are many reliable binary options brokers who operate without it. But if it is, it will be an additional advantage.
2. Check on the WinOptionSignals website. This resource regularly updates ratings of honest brokers, which are compiled based on feedback from traders and other criteria. In particular, the lists are selected taking into account trading conditions, rules for withdrawing funds from a deposit, and so on.
3. Analysis of specialized forums . Most traders share their experience of cooperation with brokerage houses. Therefore, by turning to a specialized forum, you can find out information about a specific company and trading conditions. It should be taken into account that negative reviews also appear in relation to bona fide brokers. Some of these comments are custom made. In addition to reading reviews, it is recommended to pay attention to the screenshots shared by traders. This will also help you understand how honest the broker is.
4. Conducting your own company analysis . You can find a dishonest brokerage service provider yourself. To do this, it is enough to top up your balance with a minimum amount, carry out several successful operations and place money for withdrawal. If the operation is carried out, then you can work with such a brokerage house. But before carrying out such an analysis, it is recommended to check using other methods.
5. Broker lifespan . You can avoid meeting scammers if you pay attention to your work experience. Companies that do not pay out the money they earn do not stay in the market for long. On average, fraudulent brokers stop offering “services” within the first two years after opening the site. However, this criterion does not always give the correct result. Thus, some “old” brokers offer uncomfortable trading conditions and regularly delay payments. And there are some companies that have recently appeared on the market, but are reliable and suitable for ongoing cooperation.
6. Company technical support . Many also advise paying attention to the online support of the broker and supposedly it should be Russian-speaking, but this cannot be a decisive factor, since among the CIS countries there are many black brokers who do have Russian-speaking support. Therefore, you should not attach great importance to this indicator, but only use it in conjunction with others.
7. Minimum deposit . This point is an important criterion for checking a binary options broker, and at the moment 99% of honest brokers allow you to start trading with $5-10 and not with $100, $200 or $500. If your broker requires a large initial investment, then there is a high probability that it is a scammer.
8. Trading platform and web terminal . The terminal also requires attention, and before choosing a trading platform, you should top up your account with a minimum amount to check its operation. If even at the initial stage you notice slow opening of transactions and poor performance of the terminal, then you definitely should not trade with such a broker.
9. Demo account . And of course, with every honest broker you can always try trading on a demo account. If some company does not have such an opportunity, it will be dangerous to cooperate with it, since it may be that the broker does not have a trading platform at all and everything will end after replenishing the account.

List of black binary options brokers

The list of black binary options brokers numbers in the dozens of companies, and soon it will probably number in the hundreds. But not all of the binary options scammers are well-known, and if only a few traders were deceived by some company, then no one will know about it, but if there were a lot of such traders, then it will definitely become known.

It should be noted that the blacklist of binary options brokers is constantly being adjusted. Fraudsters do not stay on the market for long, as such companies are quickly discovered by experienced traders.

Remember that in order to avoid “meeting” with these brokers, it is recommended to avoid overly attractive offers. Most binary options trading companies offer standard terms and conditions. The difference between brokers mainly comes down to the size of the minimum bets and deposits, the features of promotions and a number of other programs.

The most famous black binary options brokers over the past few years can be considered the following companies:

As you can see, there are quite a few companies that are considered scams. Some of them are already closed and do not work, but others are still operating. In addition to scammers, the list also includes companies that often limit traders’ opportunities by introducing additional limits and other trading rules.

I would also like to separately mention some fraudulent brokers who committed fraudulent acts and for whom many controversial issues were found on the official websites and on their trading platforms.

Broker Golden Bank

Binary options broker Golden Bank was repeatedly found not withdrawing clients' profits, and this continued for a long time. In addition, traders often complained about delayed quotes, which makes trading turbo options and intraday trading impossible. Therefore, this company has long been considered a black binary options broker among traders.

One of the reviews about the broker:

Broker Daily Trades

Binary options broker Daily Trades has also been repeatedly noted for not withdrawing funds, which confirms many negative reviews about the company. The broker also offers poor trading conditions. The minimum deposit with the broker was $250, and there were very few ways to deposit and withdraw funds, but this did not make much difference in payouts, since many never received them.

One of the reviews about the broker:

Broker KingTrade Pro

The binary options broker KingTrade Pro, in addition to the fact that it does not withdraw money to its clients, has many other inconsistencies, which relate both to the official website, where you can find links to strange resources, and to the trading platform, which is extremely inconvenient and does not allow you to conduct a comfortable trade.

Also, an example of a refusal to withdraw funds can be found in an example from a topic about the KingTrade Pro broker on one of the forums , where a user tried to withdraw funds, but new conditions were constantly put forward to him and no withdrawal was forthcoming:

Broker Stars Binary

Binary options broker Stars Binary has a very low-quality trading platform and a meager official website with almost no information about the company. Also, this broker has been repeatedly seen manipulating quotes and the discrepancies sometimes reached 15 points, which can be considered a full-fledged fraud.

One of the reviews about the broker:

Broker BinTradeClub

Binary options broker BinTradeClub , like other brokers from the examples, has an inconvenient trading platform and does not withdraw money, but what is even more interesting is that this project was previously under a completely different name, as evidenced by the “left” contacts on the “Contacts” page on the official broker's website.

One of the reviews about the broker:

Broker Interactive Option

Interactive Option is a scammer hiding under the guise of a real broker and trying to force traders to replenish their deposits with large amounts under various pretexts. When users submit a request to withdraw funds from their balance, the company does not carry out this operation or refuses to carry out the procedure, resorting to various methods.

One of the reviews about the broker:

Conclusion

After reading this article, you can understand that there are many more binary options scammers than honest companies, and therefore you should always take a responsible approach to choosing a broker and pay attention to all the details and factors that can say something about the company.

An even more correct approach would be to choose a company from the rating of proven and reliable binary options brokers, where you can read both reviews and other details about the company’s work:

CHOOSE A RELIABLE BROKER

See also:

Myths about binary options

Psychology in trading - what does a beginner need to know?

How to make a profit by trading on clean charts

Pros and cons of trading binary options