Check a broker
How to check a forex broker before you deposit
Check a forex broker before you deposit: find the legal company, search the regulator’s register and warning lists, spot clone firms and red flags.
Quick answer: Before you deposit, find the exact company named in your client agreement and look it up on that regulator’s own register. Check the register’s website and phone number match the ones you are using, search the warning lists, confirm how your money is protected, read the withdrawal terms and test a small withdrawal. Any failed check means stop.
Work through the checks
Go through these eight checks for the broker you are considering, in order, before any money moves. Answer each one honestly. Your answers stay in this browser, so you can stop and come back. Five of the checks are red-flag checks: a No on any of them means do not deposit.
A few words you will meet: a regulator licenses and supervises firms; segregated funds are client money kept apart from the firm’s own; negative balance protection stops a retail account going below zero; and a compensation scheme may pay eligible clients if a firm fails.
0 of 8 checks answered
Step 1: Find the exact company you would sign with
Red-flag check: a No means stop
What to do: Open the client agreement or the legal documents page and write down the full company name, its registered address, the regulator named and the licence or reference number.
Why: One brand can run several companies in different countries. The company in your contract decides which regulator, rules and protections apply to you, not the logo on the website.
Have you found the legal company name and its licence number in the client agreement?
Step 2: Look that company up on the regulator’s own register
Red-flag check: a No means stop
What to do: Go to the regulator’s website by typing the address yourself, not through a link the broker sent. Search the register by reference number, then by name.
Why: A website can claim any licence. The register shows whether the firm is authorised right now and what it is allowed to do, such as dealing with retail clients and holding client money.
Is that exact company on the register, currently authorised, with permission for this business?
Step 3: Match the contact details on the register (clone check)
Red-flag check: a No means stop
What to do: Compare the website address, phone number and email on the register entry with the ones you are using, character by character. Look for extra words, hyphens or a different country ending.
Why: Clone firms copy a real firm’s name and reference number, so they pass a name search. They cannot copy its contact details, because those would send your money and calls to the real firm.
Do the website, phone number and email you are using match the register entry exactly?
Step 4: Search the warning lists
Red-flag check: a No means stop
What to do: Search the brand name, the company name and the website address on your own regulator’s warning list, the list of the regulator the firm claims, and IOSCO’s I-SCAN, which gathers alerts from regulators worldwide.
Why: Regulators publish names of unauthorised firms and clones they have been told about. A warning is a clear stop. A clean search is a pass, not a clearance: new scams appear before the warnings do.
Did every search come back clear of warnings?
Step 5: Confirm what protects your money
Protection check
What to do: Check, for that company, whether client money is held in segregated accounts, whether you get negative balance protection, and which compensation scheme covers you if the firm fails, if any.
Why: These are what stand between you and a broker’s failure or a market gap. They vary by regulator and by company, and a regulator’s rules protect you only if your account sits with the company it supervises.
Does that company keep client money segregated and give you negative balance protection?
Step 6: Read the withdrawal terms and fees
Red-flag check: a No means stop
What to do: Find the withdrawal policy and the fee schedule. Check how long withdrawals take, which methods you can use, what they cost, and whether any bonus locks your money behind a trading target.
Why: Scams and poor brokers trap money at the exit, with turnover targets, surprise “release fees” or “taxes” you must pay first. A fair broker states its fees up front and lets you withdraw your own money.
Can you withdraw your own money at any time, with fees stated up front and no bonus target or release fee?
Step 7: Test with a small deposit and withdrawal
Red-flag check: a No means stop
What to do: Deposit a small amount you can afford to lose, then ask for some of it back to the same card or account you paid from, before you send anything larger.
Why: A test shows how the broker behaves when money leaves, which is where problems show up. Scams sometimes pay out a small first withdrawal to win trust, so a pass is not proof, but a failure is a clear stop.
Did your test withdrawal arrive, in full or minus the fee you were told about, at the method you paid from?
Step 8: Save the evidence
Protection check
What to do: Screenshot the register entry, the company name in the client agreement, your deposit and withdrawal confirmations, and keep emails and chat messages, all with dates.
Why: If anything goes wrong, your bank, the regulator, the ombudsman or the police will ask for proof. Websites and chat accounts can disappear overnight.
Have you saved screenshots and copies of the agreement, payments and messages?
Not finished
Your answers are saved only in this browser, so you can come back later. This checklist helps you spot fraud and weak protection. It cannot tell you a broker will never fail, and it does nothing about trading risk: leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose you money quickly.
Where to check: registers and warning lists
Use the register of the regulator named in your client agreement, not the one named in an advert. Then search the warning list of that regulator and of your own country, plus IOSCO’s I-SCAN, which brings alerts from regulators around the world into one search.
| Regulator | Country or region | Register | Warning list | Compensation if the firm fails |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FCAFinancial Conduct Authority | United Kingdom | FSCS: up to £85,000 per person per firm for investment claims, if the firm fails. FSCS website (opens in a new tab) | ||
| CySECCyprus Securities and Exchange Commission | Cyprus, with an EU passport | Investor Compensation Fund (ICF): up to €20,000 for eligible clients. ICF website (opens in a new tab) | ||
| ESMA and national regulatorsEuropean Securities and Markets Authority | Other EU and EEA countries | Each country’s investor compensation scheme. EU rules set a minimum of €20,000 per investor. ESMA sets EU-wide rules but does not license brokers. The licence and the register sit with the national regulator, such as CySEC in Cyprus. | ||
| ASICAustralian Securities and Investments Commission | Australia | No broad scheme for broker failure. Complaints go to AFCA. Check that the company holds the Australian financial services (AFS) licence itself, not only as an “authorised representative” of another firm. | ||
| CFTC and NFACommodity Futures Trading Commission and National Futures Association | United States | None for retail forex accounts. A firm offering retail forex in the US should show in BASIC as an NFA member and an approved forex dealer member. | ||
| FSCAFinancial Sector Conduct Authority | South Africa | No general compensation scheme for broker failure. Warnings sit under “Warnings and Alerts” on the FSCA news page. | ||
| FMAFinancial Markets Authority | New Zealand | No compensation scheme for broker failure. Being on the providers register is not the same as a licence. Check that the company holds an FMA licence for the service, such as a derivatives issuer licence. | ||
| CIROCanadian Investment Regulatory Organization | Canada | CIPF covers eligible accounts at CIRO investment dealer members if the firm fails, within limits. CIPF website (opens in a new tab) Provincial securities regulators also publish their own warnings. | ||
| MASMonetary Authority of Singapore | Singapore | No compensation scheme for trading accounts. | ||
| DFSADubai Financial Services Authority | Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) | No compensation scheme for broker failure. The DFSA covers firms in the DIFC only. Firms elsewhere in the UAE are supervised by other authorities. | ||
| IOSCO I-SCANInternational Organization of Securities Commissions | Worldwide | Not a register | Not applicable: I-SCAN is a search of alerts, not a regulator. Gathers warnings from regulators around the world in one search. Useful when a firm claims a base you do not know. |
Links checked on 15 October 2026. Compensation limits are at the time of writing and apply only to eligible clients of the company that regulator supervises. Rules change: confirm on the regulator’s own website. Never trust a “regulator” link that a broker or a stranger sends you: use these links or type the address yourself.
What each regulator’s rules give you
Protection differs a lot between regulators. Pick one below to see which of the four main layers apply to retail clients of a company it supervises.
- Supervised by a serious regulator
- Client money segregated
- Negative balance protection
- Compensation scheme
- Region
- Retail leverage cap
- Compensation if the broker fails
- Where to complain
Typical rules at the time of writing. Rules change; confirm on the regulator’s own website before opening an account.
Red flags that mean stop
Scams and poor brokers tend to give themselves away in the same few ways. Any one of these is reason enough to stop and check again. Two or more together, walk away.
Red flag 1: Guaranteed or fixed returns
No one can promise a return from trading. A fixed “2% a week” or “no-risk profit” is a sales line, not a forecast.
Red flag 2: Pressure to deposit fast
Countdowns, “last places” and daily calls exist to stop you checking. A real firm will still be there next week.
Red flag 3: “Account managers” who trade for you
Someone offering to trade your account, or asking for remote access to your computer, controls your money. Most retail brokers do not do this.
Red flag 4: Bonuses tied to withdrawals
A bonus that locks your own deposit until you hit a trading target keeps your money in. UK, EU and Australian rules ban or restrict bonuses for retail clients.
Red flag 5: Crypto or unusual payment only
Deposits only by crypto, gift cards or a transfer to a person’s account are hard to trace and almost impossible to reverse.
Red flag 6: A licence number that does not match
The number on the website points to a different company, a different website or nothing at all on the register.
Red flag 7: Offshore-only company for retail clients
If the only company on offer to you is registered offshore, the strict regulator named on the brand’s homepage may not cover your account.
Red flag 8: A fee or “tax” to release your money
Being asked to pay first to withdraw your own money is the classic sign of a scam. Paying never releases it; it only adds to the loss.
Red flag 9: Contact only through messaging apps
No landline, no named office, only WhatsApp, Telegram or social media chats. A regulated firm lists its contact details on the register.
Clone firms: a real name, the wrong contact details
A clone firm copies a genuine, regulated company: its name, its registered address and its reference number. Search the register for the name and you find a real, authorised firm, so the clone seems to pass. What it cannot copy are the website, email and phone number on the register entry, because those would send your money and calls to the real firm. That is where you catch it.
So when you check, compare every contact detail on the register entry with the ones you have been using, character by character: an extra word, a hyphen or a different ending such as .com instead of .co.uk is enough. If in doubt, contact the firm only through the details on the register and ask whether the person you have been dealing with works there.
Each BrokerCut broker profile lists the broker’s official website domains and any look-alike domains we have seen using its name, alongside its licences and the company each region’s clients sign with. Our review method explains how we check them. Treat our list as a starting point and still confirm the details on the regulator’s register: scammers register new look-alikes all the time.
If you think you’ve been scammed
Finding out you may have been defrauded is distressing, and scams catch careful people because professionals build them. Act quickly and in this order. There is no guarantee of getting money back, but acting fast gives you the best chance and protects you from losing more.
- Stop paying. Send nothing more, whatever the reason given: a tax, a release fee, a margin top-up or a “final” verification. Every payment after the first refusal is new money lost.
- Save the evidence. Screenshot the website, your account, every message and every payment, with dates. Note names, phone numbers, bank details and any wallet addresses.
- Contact your bank or card issuer straight away. Tell them it is fraud. Card payments may be disputed through a chargeback, which has time limits. Banks have fraud procedures for transfers, and some countries, including the UK, have reimbursement rules for people tricked into sending a payment. If you gave anyone remote access or a password, change your passwords and have your device checked.
- Report it to the regulator. Tell your own country’s regulator and the one the firm claimed. If it was a clone, tell the genuine firm too. Reports feed the warning lists that protect the next person.
- Report it to the police. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, use Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025; in Scotland, contact Police Scotland on 101. Elsewhere, use your national fraud reporting service or local police. Banks often ask for a crime reference number.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a forex broker is regulated?
Find the legal company name and licence number in the client agreement, then search for that company on the regulator’s own register, reached by typing the address yourself. Check it is currently authorised for this business and that the website and phone number listed match the ones you are using. Then search the warning lists.
What is a clone firm?
A clone firm is a scam that copies the name, address and reference number of a real, regulated company, so it passes a quick register search. It uses its own website, email and phone number to take your money. You catch it by comparing those contact details with the ones on the register entry.
If a broker is on the register, is my money safe?
Not completely. The register shows the firm is authorised and supervised, which brings rules on client money and conduct. It does not stop a firm failing, and protection depends on the company you sign with: compensation schemes have limits and some regulators have none. And no regulator protects you from trading losses: leveraged forex and CFD trading is high risk.
Can I get my money back if I have been scammed?
Sometimes, but it is never certain. Card payments may be disputed through a chargeback if you act quickly, and some countries have reimbursement rules for bank transfer fraud. Crypto transfers are very hard to reverse. Stop paying, contact your bank or card issuer at once, then report to the regulator and the police.
Should I pay a company that offers to recover my lost money?
No. Anyone who contacts you offering to recover lost money for an up-front fee is almost always running a second scam, often using details passed on by the first. Your bank, the regulator and the police do not charge you to report fraud. If someone claims to be one of them, hang up and call back on a number you found yourself.
Keep learning
- MagazineForex broker scams: 9 red flags and how to check a licence
- MagazineForex broker regulation: FCA, ASIC, CySEC, NFA and offshore
- MagazineHow to choose a forex broker
- MagazineForex withdrawals: how they work and what to do if one is refused
- MagazineSegregated accounts in forex
- MagazineNegative balance protection
- MagazineForex deposit bonuses and their conditions
- Academy lessonWhy regulation matters
- Academy lessonRed flags and scams
- Academy lessonDeposits and withdrawals
- Academy courseThe full Choosing a Broker course
- BrokersBroker profiles: licences, entities and official domains
- Our methodHow we review brokers