WikiFX report: LonghornFX review – 5 things you should know about longhornfx.com

LonghornFX is a broker with an awkward name, which doesn‘t really suggest that they are offering financial products or services. The overall impression of the website is good, looks relatively professionally made and it’s not difficult to believe that you are dealing with a good Forex broker. However, the nature of this entity puts him far behind the best in the business. There are very few, but very very crucial characteristics, that should make the traders be extremely careful, before they choose to deposit money with LonghornFX. For example, there isnt a contact number listed, and you cannot actually ring them, but instead you have to make a call back request, a strange and uncommon feature, not seen among the true Forex brokers.

LonghornFX REGULATION AND SAFETY OF FUNDS

LonghornFX is an offshore broker which is registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a small Caribbean island nation, which is part of the Commonwealth of Nations and a former UK colony. SVG is regarded as an offshore zone and in the recent years is a top location for shady entities which are looking to remain anonymous. The financial authority on the island, SVGFSA, does not supervise the Forex brokers that are operating under their jurisdictions, meaning that these act without complying to any rules and regulations.

A Forex broker operating in SVG might offer ridiculously high level of leverage such as 1:1000, might impose unbearable fees and charges on the traders, might alter their T&Cs at any time solely on their own discretion and might also conduct all kind of unfair activities, if they want to. There is absolutely no security for the trader, and if the broker starts to act strangely no institution is at presence to report to! LonghornFX might have the appearance of a good Forex broker, but its still an offshore broker which is unlicensed and unstable. If it faces difficulties or simply disappear, the traders will most probably be left with nothing!

Forex brokers with presence in EU, UK and USA are strictly regulated and comply to many and various rules, which are implemented for the benefit and the security of the traders. Under CySEC and FCA supervision there are money protection schemes in operation, which guarantee the clients‘ deposits of up to 20 000 EUR in Cyprus, per person, and in UK of even up to 85 000 GBP. LonghornFX can’t offer any protection of security for your funds, our advise is to trust only regulated Forex brokers.

LonghornFX TRADING SOFTWARE

LonghornFX introduces itself as a true STP/ECN Forex broker, but only allows trading on MT4 acounts, supposedly using a bridge. Most of the true ECN brokers, however, are using the MT5 platform, which is designed and built-up for the purpose. It is unknown why LonghornFX does not offer the fifth version of Metatrader, but we were truly bamboozled only after we saw their charts on MT4!

They offer desktop, mobile and web MT4. Upon opening a demo account, however, we saw charts which we didnt like, at all. The weekly charts displayed only a few candles, while on a lower time frame we could see a huge gap of 7 years! No valuable technical analysis is possible with such a chart!

The spread is actually pretty favorable, no more than 0.8 pips EUR/USD, in the middle of the London session. The leverage levels might reach to as much as 1:500, allowing riskier trading if desired, but given the charts available, we do not advice executing any trades.

No types of accounts with different trading conditions available.

LonghornFX DEPOSIT/WITHDRAW METHODS AND FEES

There is a single funding method- Bitcoin! If you want to use your bank card or a wire transfer you are automatically redirected to the online cryptowallet Instacoins, where you should buy Bitcoins and then fund your account! It is a really disturbing information, first of all, the crypto payments are totally insecure, and a refund is also impossible. Also, all of the true Forex brokers accept more than just a single payment method!

The minimum deposit is $10 equivalent in BTC for a direct Bitcoin payment through their system, and $50 through Instacoins.

The minimum withdrawal amount is said to be in Bitcoins, equivalent to $10, however, we didnt find sufficient information about their exchange methods which is another disturbing sign.

The fees for deposits or withdrawals are fixed at $5, regardless of the sum, and it is said to be a charge from the network, not LonghornFXs. The processing time is also not specified, the trader should allow up to 6 confirmations for each transaction. Really obscure process, as a matter of fact, make sure to be secured if you are going to deposit any money with any broker. Beware!

LonghornFX does not take into consideration Dormant accounts, and there are no fees specified.

LonghornFX does not offer trading bonuses, instead they have their own affiliate program. They offer tiered commission structure and you can earn $3 per traded lot by your affiliate, the commission is paid into the MT4 account. Similar affiliate programs are not a common practice among the leaders in the retail Forex industry and a company certainly degrades its image by using such a blatant approach.

HOW DOES THE SCAM WORK

The scam is a confidence trick! The scammers will promise you the moon and the stars only to gain your confidence, then will persuade you to invest money with them and sooner or later will take advantage of you, running away with your money.

An evidence of scam that is easily to recognize is that often the scammers will accept only cryptocurrencies funding as a method to deposit money in your account. It‘s for a reason, the cryptos are perfectly unregulated, there isn’t a single authority in the world to deal with cryptos. Once you deposit cryptos with scammers, its virtually impossible to get a refund! Stay away from brokers who does not accept the traditional funding methods, there is something fishy about them.

WHAT TO DO WHEN SCAMMED

Anyone can get involved in scam, scammers are constantly changing their strategies and no one must feel safe. If being scammed the first thing you should do is to protect yourself from further risks. Contact your bank and explain to them your situation, they will give you important instructions to follow and will help you, if possible, recover your money.

Report what have happened to you, file a complaint, contact the financial regulator, contact other government institutions dealing with trading and investing. Seek help actively!

Share online your experience, it is important to protect others, as well. Be responsible!

Our Advice is to avoid LonghornFX, the offshore brokers are risky entities, take care for your money!