VCG Markets – Are They a Scam?

Website URL: https://vcgmarkets.com

Founded: 2021

Regulations: Not Regulated

Languages: English, Arabic, Kurdish

Deposit Methods: Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller, Wire Transfer

Minimum Deposit: $100

Free Demo Account: Not Available

Number of Assets: N/A

Types of Assets: Cryptocurrencies, Forex, Indices, US Shares, Commodities, UK Shares, EU Shares

Trading Accounts and Conditions

VCG Markets offers its clients two types of trading accounts – Standard and Premium.

• Standard: The minimum deposit that you have to make to open this account is $100. The spreads start from 1.4 pips. The maximum leverage varies depending on the trading instrument. For forex, the maximum ratio offered is 1:500. For CFDs, it is 1:200, 1:20 for VCG Markets, and it is dynamic for Metals, Equities and CFDs.
• Premium: The minimum amount you have to deposit is $5,000. The leverage ratios offered are the same as Standard accounts. There is a $4 commission per lot.

VCG Markets – Advantages

There are no advantages that we could find in VCG Markets.

VCG Markets – Disadvantages

Here are the issues we were able to identify while reviewing VCG Markets:

• Regulatory Issues

VCG Markets claims that it is owned and operated by Vision Capital Group LLC, a company that is supposedly registered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The broker also claims that it is fully regulated by the FSA (Financial Service Authority) of SVG.

This is obviously a lie, since the FSA of SVG has clearly – and publicly – stated that it does not offer any regulatory oversight for forex and CFD brokers that are registered offshore. This means that this broker’s claims of being regulated are bogus.

A broker that lies about its regulatory standing is clearly a scammer and dealing with such entities is dangerous. Since it is easy to claim any kind of regulation on a website, it is important for traders to do a little due diligence before investing with a new broker. This is why we recommend that a trader verify their target broker’s credentials before committing to them. It is just a simple matter of going to the relevant financial regulator’s online register and checking if that broker is actually registered with them or not. Taking this small but crucial step can save you a lot of grief.

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• Unable to Open Account

VCG Markets claims that it offers its clients a demo account so that they can test the waters before really committing to this broker. However, when we tried to register for a demo account, we were not allowed to open a demo account. We were asked to fill in a simple form, after which we could do nothing more.

Furthermore, when we tried to open a live account, we were constantly redirected back to the broker’s home page.

Because of these issues, we were unable to verify whether this broker actually does offer the MetaTrader 5 software for trading.

• Unclear Payment Methods

VCG Markets claims that it accepts multiple payment methods – Visa, MasterCard, Skrill, Neteller and Wire Transfer. However, since we were unable to access the client payment area, we could not verify if these options were truly available.

While choosing a payment method with a new broker, it is best to use a credit card. This is because if you do unfortunately get scammed, then you have the option of filing for a chargeback with your bank. This means that there is at least a chance that you may get your money back. Scam brokers usually tend to offer non-reversible payment options such as cryptocurrency payments. These payments are almost completely anonymous, untraceable and irreversible. Therefore, once you have made a payment using cryptos, there is no way you will ever get your money back.

Thus, it is very important to check – and verify – the payment methods offered by your broker. Legitimate brokers will offer numerous payment options, all of which can be verified and validated. With VCG Markets, while the broker makes some tall claims to offer multiple payment methods, there is no way that we can verify them. This in itself is a red flag that implies underhanded or shady dealings. Therefore, we would warn our readers against this broker.

• Extremely High Leverage

VCG Markets offers its clients a maximum leverage of 1:500. However, there are a few issues with this kind of leverage that we need to highlight. While offshore brokers are not restricted in how much leverage they can offer their clients, trading with such high ratios is extremely risky. And because of the massive risk attached to such high leverage, most strongly regulated jurisdictions have placed restrictions on how much leverage their brokers can offer.

So, in the UK, the EU and Australia, brokers are allowed to offer a maximum leverage of 1:30. In the US and Canada, brokers can offer 1:50 as a maximum leverage. In Japan, that amount is 1:20 and in Turkey, it is just 1:10.

Thus, a leverage of 1:500 is just too high, especially considering the fact that this broker is also targeting client in jurisdictions with strict caps on leverage.

Conclusion

VCG Markets comes across as a legitimate broker, however, when you scratch below the surface, you find that there are a lot of red flags that reveal this broker’s scam. The broker claims to be regulated, but that is a lie. The broker offers reasonable minimum deposits, withdrawal fees and trading commissions. However, these claims are only the broker’s home page. Since we were unable to access their trading platform or client area, there was no way for us to verify these promises. The leverage ratios are a huge red flag that point to a scam.

All in all, we would say that it would be best not to take a chance with this broker; there are too many indications of a scam here.

VCG Markets

2.3

User Experience

2.0/10

Payment Options

2.0/10

Security

3.0/10

Support

2.2/10

Reputation

2.2/10

Pros

• None

Cons

• Regulatory Issues
• Unable to Open Account
• Unclear Payment Methods
• Extremely High Leverage