HDGFX Review – Can you Trust this Broker?

HDGFX Review

With scam brokers rife in the financial markets, you have to be on your guard when you go shopping for an online brokerage. Every platform you come across will tout itself as the best option out there, offering you a ton of services and features.

But, claiming something and actually delivering are two different things. Both genuine and scam companies are going to use this approach, so it is your job to figure out which one you can trust. It is not that simple because fraudsters make an effort to hide their real nature, but you can get to the bottom of it, as this HDGFX review does.

It is not just about the money that you lose to a scam, but also about the hassle you have to face and the opportunities you miss. It can affect a person’s confidence significantly and demotivate them from trading altogether, which you do not want.

You need a company you can trust with your money and your personal information, which allows you to enjoy a smooth trading journey. Just because a broker is claiming to be so does not mean that you take their word for it.

You have to do your own research to come to a conclusion about a brokerage and this applies to HDGFX as well. You should never make assumptions that if a company has a well-designed and good-looking website, it will be able to deliver you the services you require.

It takes a lot more for a broker to be truly professional and this becomes evident when you dig into HDGFX. At first glance, their website appears to be extremely convincing, given that it is licensed and gives you access to a variety of forex currency pairs, indices, shares, commodities and cryptocurrencies.

The trading conditions at HDGFX also seem lucrative and it is offering great support and numerous payment methods. But, can you trust this broker? Unfortunately, you will find that the reason HDGFX looks so convincing is because it is operating a clone scam.

This means that it has copied the details of a legitimate broker, which is Blueberry Markets, in this case. It is a genuine Australian brokerage and HDGFX is using the license credentials and other details of the company to pass itself off as legitimate as well. How can you tell? Let’s take a look:

Regulation and licensing

A look at the regulation and licensing details of HDGFX will help you determine that the brokerage is not genuine and is a clone scam. This is because the scammers running the website have done a rather poor job of editing the content that they copied from Blueberry Markets.

According to HDGFX, it is owned and operated by a company called Eightcap Pty Ltd., which is authorized by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

Indeed, when you check the online register of the ASIC, you will find the company name, but it has absolutely nothing to do with HDGFX. The broker it operates is called Blueberry Markets and this proves you are dealing with a clone scam.

Moreover, if you continue checking out the presentation on the HDGFX website, you will find that it mentions another company entirely called Sig Solutions Investment Company Limited.

You are assured that this company is licensed in the United States by the National Futures Association (NFA). But, when you check the NFA’s register, you will not find the company.

The company has the status of a Commodity Trading Advisor and an Exempt Commodity Pool Operator. However, this does not give it the authority to offer trading services.

As a matter of fact, it would have to have a license from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which it doesn’t, thereby proving that HDGFX is not a legitimate broker and is using the details of a genuine company to pretend it is.

Leverage

The second area where you will have trouble with HDGFX is when you check out its trading conditions, specifically leverage. This feature is appealing to traders because it gives them flexibility.

They are able to make bigger trades with a limited capital, which means more chances of profits. However, losses can also be magnified because of leverage, which makes it very risky.

Therefore, regulatory bodies have imposed a cap on the leverage that can be offered to retail traders and brokers have to comply with it. When you go through the leverage ratios offered at HDGFX, you will find that it claims to offer levels as high as 1:500. But, when you register an account, you will find that the ratios are as high as 1:1000.

Even though this can be attractive, you shouldn’t forget that HDGFX claims to be operating from Australia and the ASIC is one of the regulatory bodies that have imposed a cap on leverage of 1:30. This means that the broker should not be offering such high ratios, yet it is and this confirms that it is outright lying about everything.

Payment methods

When you go through the HDGFX website, you will undoubtedly be impressed with the long list of payment methods they have advertised. Their website indicates that they accept payments via VISA, MasterCard, BPay, PayPal, Skrill, China UnionPay, POLi, DragonPay, FasaPay, Bitcoin and USD Tether and bank wire transfers.

This can certainly be reassuring for traders because the list comprises of a number of payment methods that give you the option of filing for chargeback, which means you can get a refund. However, it turns out that HDGFX is lying about the payment methods as well because it only accepts payments via USD Tether.

This is typical of scammers because crypto payments are final and cannot be reversed. There can be no chargeback or refunds once you have deposited your money.

Moreover, these payments also give anonymity and this is all scammers like HDGFX want.

Conclusion

Considering that HDGFX is a clone website and is lying about everything, it is evident that you cannot trust this broker with anything at all.