How long should a full project verification take?

Roughly 30-60 minutes for a thorough sweep across all five stages, much less once you've done it a few times. Compared to the time you'd spend chasing a withdrawal from a scam, it's a trivial upfront investment.

Is offshore regulation always disqualifying?

Not categorically, but in practice yes for retail use cases. Offshore regulators (Saint Vincent, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands) typically don't impose investor-protection rules or compensation schemes. If something goes wrong, you have effectively no recourse.

What if the firm refuses to provide a read-only Myfxbook?

Refusal is itself the strongest possible signal that the track record is fabricated, cherry-picked, or unreliable. Real edges are happy to be audited because audit doesn't reveal strategy (it only shows fills). Walk away.

Should I trust 'audited by a Big Four firm' claims?

Only if you independently confirm. Contact the audit firm directly (find their address from ICAEW or PCAOB registry — not the broker's link to them). Most 'Big Four audit' claims on retail-trading sites are fabricated; legitimate audits can be cross-checked.

What's the difference between PEP and UBO checks?

UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner) is the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the company — anti-money-laundering laws require firms to disclose this. PEP (Politically Exposed Person) lists flag people in significant public positions whose involvement increases corruption / sanctions risk. OpenSanctions and the major financial-crime databases include both.

Essential25-30 minLesson 4Scam Check

How to Verify a Trading Project — 5 Stages in 30 Minutes

A reproducible due-diligence protocol with the actual registers (FCA, ESMA, NFA, Companies House, OpenSanctions, Myfxbook) you need — and the specific red flags at each stage that send you home.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-20

Choose your reading depth — content adapts, URL stays the same.

TL;DR — 60 sec

5-stage protocol · 60 seconds

Identity — Companies register lookup + UBO + OpenSanctions
Regulatory — FCA / NFA / ESMA register, licence + scope + warning list
Team — Reverse-image, LinkedIn, employment history
Track record — Read-only Myfxbook / FX Blue link, 100+ trades
Community — Google + Reddit + Trustpilot 1-stars + FPA blacklist

Stop rules: any red flag in Stage 1 or Stage 2 = walk away immediately. 3+ flags across all stages = high risk, do not deposit.

The 5 stages, in order

Sequential, not parallel. If a stage uncovers a hard red flag, you stop — there is no point checking the team of a fake entity. Each stage below names the exact public registers + tools to use.

1Stage 1 — Identity verification

Goal

Confirm the company you are about to send money to is a real legal entity, and identify who actually owns it.

Steps

Find the registered company name on the website footer or T&Cs (not the marketing brand).
Look up the company in the relevant national companies register.
Note the registration date — < 1 year old is high risk; < 3 months is very high risk.
Identify the directors and the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO).
Cross-check the UBO against international sanctions and PEP (politically exposed persons) lists.

Tools / registers

Companies House — UK
OpenCorporates — Global
SEC EDGAR — US
OpenSanctions — Global
Bundesanzeiger — Germany

Stage-specific red flags

No registered company name disclosed anywhere on the site.
Company is < 3 months old but already advertising big returns.
UBO is hidden behind shell companies in multiple jurisdictions.
Directors appear on a regulator warning list or in an OpenSanctions hit.

2Stage 2 — Regulatory verification

Goal

Confirm the firm is actually licensed by the regulator it claims, in the scope it claims (forex / CFDs / asset management / crypto).

Steps

Note the claimed regulator + licence number from the broker's site.
Go DIRECTLY to the regulator's website (not via any link from the broker).
Search the licence number or company name in the regulator's public register.
Verify scope of activity matches the offering (forex, CFDs, managed accounts, crypto).
Check 'appointed representative' — if the firm is only an AR of another regulated entity, you have weaker protection.
Search the regulator's warning list for the firm name OR similar look-alikes.

Tools / registers

FCA Financial Services Register — UK
ESMA Investor Warnings — EU
NFA BASIC — US futures/forex
CFTC RED List — US — Registration Deficient
BaFin — Germany
ASIC Connect — Australia

Stage-specific red flags

Licence number returns no result on the regulator's register.
Firm is registered for a different scope (e.g. 'corporate services' but advertises forex managed accounts).
Firm name appears on the regulator's warning list.
Regulator is an offshore name with no real enforcement (Saint Vincent, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands).
Firm is 'appointed representative' of a regulated entity but the AR scope is narrower than what's being sold.

3Stage 3 — Team verification

Goal

Confirm the people behind the project are real, with verifiable prior employment and credentials.

Steps

List the named founders / CEO / portfolio managers from the website.
Reverse-image search each headshot via Google Images, TinEye, or Yandex.
Search each name on LinkedIn — verify employment history, mutual connections, posting cadence.
Cross-check claimed prior employers (e.g. 'ex-Goldman Sachs') against LinkedIn AND that firm's alumni database where possible.
Google '<full name>' + scam / fraud / lawsuit / warning.

Tools / registers

Google reverse image search — Global
TinEye — Global
LinkedIn — Global
PimEyes (face search) — Global

Stage-specific red flags

Headshot is a stock-photo or reverse-resolves to other 'CEO' / 'founder' pages.
No LinkedIn profile, or the profile is < 6 months old with < 50 connections.
Claimed prior employer cannot confirm the person worked there (or the role didn't exist).
Personal news search returns warnings, regulator actions, or unresolved lawsuits.

4Stage 4 — Track record verification

Goal

Confirm any trading results are independently auditable — not edited screenshots or self-published dashboards.

Steps

Demand a read-only third-party tracker link (Myfxbook, FX Blue, FXBook) covering ≥ 12 months.
Verify the tracker is set to public read-only API mode (not 'broker statement upload', which is forgeable).
Inspect: total trades (> 100), win rate, average R, profit factor, max drawdown, longest losing streak.
If audited returns are claimed, find the auditor's name + ICAEW/PCAOB/IFAC membership and contact them.
Match the equity curve's drawdowns to real market events (Q1 2020, Feb 2018 vol spike, etc.) — drawdowns that don't match real volatility are fabricated.

Tools / registers

Myfxbook — Global
FX Blue — Global
ICAEW Find a Chartered Accountant — UK auditors
PCAOB Registered Firms — US auditors

Stage-specific red flags

Refuses or stalls on a read-only tracker link.
Tracker is 'manual statement upload' rather than read-only API.
Track is < 100 trades or covers < 6 months.
Equity curve is suspiciously smooth or drawdowns don't match real market events.
Auditor name doesn't appear in the relevant professional body's register.

5Stage 5 — Community signal triangulation

Goal

Cross-check what the firm tells you against what the global retail community is reporting in independent forums.

Steps

Google '<firm name> scam' / 'review' / 'withdrawal' — read past page 1 for genuine signal.
Search Reddit r/Forex, r/CryptoCurrency, r/Scams for the firm name.
Check Trustpilot critically — read the 1-star reviews specifically (they usually have detail; 5-stars can be bought).
Check FX-related scam databases (FPA Scam Alerts, BrokersView).
Look for recurring patterns in complaints (withdrawal denials, account closures, missing funds).

Tools / registers

FPA Scam Alerts — Forex
Trustpilot — Global
Reddit r/Forex — Global
Reddit r/Scams — Global

Stage-specific red flags

Same recurring complaint across multiple platforms (e.g. withdrawal denial).
5-star reviews are all dated within a 2-week window — suggests a bought review campaign.
All criticism is met with identical aggressive lawyer-letter responses.
Firm appears in FPA Scam Alerts or BrokersView blacklist.

Key terms

Definition

UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner)

The natural person who ultimately owns or controls a legal entity, directly or through chains of ownership. Anti-money-laundering regulations (EU 4th/5th/6th AML Directives, US FinCEN beneficial-ownership rule) require firms to identify and disclose their UBOs. A hidden UBO is a major red flag.

Definition

Appointed Representative (AR)

A firm authorised to carry out regulated activities under the umbrella of a directly regulated ‘principal’. The principal is responsible for the AR’s actions, but the AR’s permitted scope can be narrower. FCA register entries clearly mark AR status; investor protection differs from dealing with the principal directly.

Definition

Sanctions / PEP screening

Cross-checking individuals or entities against international sanctions lists (US OFAC, UK HMT, EU consolidated list) and politically-exposed-persons databases. Standard part of any financial firm’s KYC. Aggregators like OpenSanctions consolidate these for free.

Risk grading

After running all five stages, count red flags and classify the project. Stages 1-2 (Identity, Regulatory) are necessary conditions — any flag there forces a HIGH grade regardless of how clean stages 3-5 are.

Low risk

Threshold: 0 red flags across 5 stages

Action: OK to start with a small live account ($100-500). Continue monitoring.

Medium risk

Threshold: 1-2 red flags total, none in Stages 1 (Identity) or 2 (Regulatory)

Action: Consider staying on demo only. If you proceed live, cap at < $100 and treat as expendable; do not scale.

High risk

Threshold: 3+ red flags, OR any red flag in Stage 1 / Stage 2

Action: Do not deposit. Tell anyone in your network considering this firm what you found.

Worked example — verifying “Elite Forex Capital”

Hypothetical pitch: “Elite Forex Capital — UK-based, FCA-regulated, founded by ex-Goldman Sachs traders. Track record: + 47 % last year, 8 % max drawdown, audited by Big Four. Telegram VIP signals + managed account.”

Identity: Companies House search → no ‘Elite Forex Capital’ in active registrations. Only dissolved company with same name from 2019. → Red flag.
Regulatory: FCA Register search → returns no result. Site shows licence “FRN 999999” → also no result. → Red flag.
At this point, stop. Stages 1 and 2 both failed. Grade: HIGH RISK — do not deposit.
(Skipped: Team, Track record, Community.)

Total verification time: ~ 4 minutes. The brand name + “ex-Goldman” + “FCA” language gets the marketing-attention; the registers tell the truth.

Guided practice — pick one real firm + run the protocol

Real-world task

Choose any broker or signal service you’ve heard advertised — ideally one you were tempted by. Open the registers above in tabs. Run all 5 stages and record red flags. Total time: 30-60 minutes. Save your findings in the journal below.

Independent practice — open these registers

Three real public registers / databases — open them and confirm you can find a familiar firm or look up something.

FCA Register

Search 'Hargreaves Lansdown' — large UK firm, verify scope.

Companies House

Look up any UK firm's directors + filing history.

OpenSanctions

Search any public name for sanctions hits.

Mastery check

Seven questions on the protocol, the registers, and the difference between strong vs weak verification signals. Pass at 6 of 7 (~ 80 %).

Verification Mastery Quiz

Test your understanding with 7 questions. Pass with 6/7 correct.

Reflect

Reflection

Type your honest answers — saved on this device only. Use them next week to spot patterns in your trading thinking.

Pick a firm you ran through the protocol. List the red flags (per stage) and your final risk grade.Which stage do you find hardest to execute, and what tool would make it faster?

Pro deep dive

Deeper digging — when the basics aren’t enough

UBO discovery through shell-company layersPro

Sophisticated frauds layer ownership through multiple jurisdictions (e.g. UK Ltd → Cayman holdco → Seychelles foundation). OpenCorporates + the EU’s 5AMLD-mandated UBO registers (gradually re-opened to journalists/CSOs after the 2022 ECJ ruling) let you trace ultimate ownership. ICIJ’s Offshore Leaks database is a free aggregation of the Panama / Paradise / Pandora Papers — search any UBO name there to see if they appear in leaked offshore structures.

Final notices and enforcement actionsPro

FCA, FINMA, FINRA, and other regulators publish final notices and enforcement actions on their websites. A firm with multiple final notices in a 3-year window is functionally untrustworthy regardless of any other signal. Use the regulator’s site search rather than third-party aggregators.

Broker rating-agency caveatsPro

Sites like ForexBrokers.com, FXEmpire, Investing.com rate brokers — but many earn affiliate commissions from the same brokers they rate. Treat them as one data point, not a verification. The independent regulator register + named-auditor confirmation + read-only track record are the only signals immune to affiliate distortion.

On-chain verification for crypto projects

Smart-contract and token forensicsPro

For crypto projects: read the smart contract on Etherscan / BscScan; check whether contract is verified, who can call privileged functions (mint, pause, owner-transfer), what the token distribution looks like among top-10 holders, and whether the liquidity pool is time-locked. Tools like RugDoc, TokenSniffer, and de.fi’s scanner automate the first pass.

Wallet labelling and money-flow analysisPro

Public block-explorers + Chainalysis-flavoured tools (Arkham Intelligence, Nansen, MetaSleuth) let you label addresses (exchange, mixer, sanctioned, scam-reported) and trace money flow. A project receiving funds from a mixer or a tornado-cash address is a strong signal; a project funded entirely from a single fresh wallet with no history is another.

Bibliography & further registers

Pro practice

Maintain a personal verification log — date, firm, stage results, decision. Six months in, patterns emerge: the same suspicious operators recycle brand names + UBOs across new shell entities. Your log spots the recurrence before the marketing layer does.

Recall card — review in 1 week

Recall the 5-stage verification protocol in order, plus the hard stop rule.

Show answer

(1) Identity — Companies register + UBO + OpenSanctions. (2) Regulatory — regulator's own register, licence + scope + warnings. (3) Team — reverse-image + LinkedIn + employment cross-check. (4) Track record — read-only Myfxbook / FX Blue, 100+ trades. (5) Community — Google scam + Reddit + Trustpilot 1-stars + FPA. Hard stop: any red flag in Stage 1 or Stage 2 means walk away immediately, regardless of how clean the other stages look.

Next: Why FxRobotEasy is different

Educational material only — not investment advice. Trading carries risk of capital loss. Always practice on demo and use a stop-loss. ← Back to Scam Check

Essential25-30 minLesson 4Scam Check

How to Verify a Trading Project — 5 Stages in 30 Minutes

A reproducible due-diligence protocol with the actual registers (FCA, ESMA, NFA, Companies House, OpenSanctions, Myfxbook) you need — and the specific red flags at each stage that send you home.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-20

Choose your reading depth — content adapts, URL stays the same.

TL;DR — 60 sec

5-stage protocol · 60 seconds

Identity — Companies register lookup + UBO + OpenSanctions
Regulatory — FCA / NFA / ESMA register, licence + scope + warning list
Team — Reverse-image, LinkedIn, employment history
Track record — Read-only Myfxbook / FX Blue link, 100+ trades
Community — Google + Reddit + Trustpilot 1-stars + FPA blacklist

Stop rules: any red flag in Stage 1 or Stage 2 = walk away immediately. 3+ flags across all stages = high risk, do not deposit.

The 5 stages, in order

Sequential, not parallel. If a stage uncovers a hard red flag, you stop — there is no point checking the team of a fake entity. Each stage below names the exact public registers + tools to use.

1Stage 1 — Identity verification

Goal

Confirm the company you are about to send money to is a real legal entity, and identify who actually owns it.

Steps

Find the registered company name on the website footer or T&Cs (not the marketing brand).
Look up the company in the relevant national companies register.
Note the registration date — < 1 year old is high risk; < 3 months is very high risk.
Identify the directors and the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO).
Cross-check the UBO against international sanctions and PEP (politically exposed persons) lists.

Tools / registers

Companies House — UK
OpenCorporates — Global
SEC EDGAR — US
OpenSanctions — Global
Bundesanzeiger — Germany

Stage-specific red flags

No registered company name disclosed anywhere on the site.
Company is < 3 months old but already advertising big returns.
UBO is hidden behind shell companies in multiple jurisdictions.
Directors appear on a regulator warning list or in an OpenSanctions hit.

2Stage 2 — Regulatory verification

Goal

Confirm the firm is actually licensed by the regulator it claims, in the scope it claims (forex / CFDs / asset management / crypto).

Steps

Note the claimed regulator + licence number from the broker's site.
Go DIRECTLY to the regulator's website (not via any link from the broker).
Search the licence number or company name in the regulator's public register.
Verify scope of activity matches the offering (forex, CFDs, managed accounts, crypto).
Check 'appointed representative' — if the firm is only an AR of another regulated entity, you have weaker protection.
Search the regulator's warning list for the firm name OR similar look-alikes.

Tools / registers

FCA Financial Services Register — UK
ESMA Investor Warnings — EU
NFA BASIC — US futures/forex
CFTC RED List — US — Registration Deficient
BaFin — Germany
ASIC Connect — Australia

Stage-specific red flags

Licence number returns no result on the regulator's register.
Firm is registered for a different scope (e.g. 'corporate services' but advertises forex managed accounts).
Firm name appears on the regulator's warning list.
Regulator is an offshore name with no real enforcement (Saint Vincent, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands).
Firm is 'appointed representative' of a regulated entity but the AR scope is narrower than what's being sold.

3Stage 3 — Team verification

Goal

Confirm the people behind the project are real, with verifiable prior employment and credentials.

Steps

List the named founders / CEO / portfolio managers from the website.
Reverse-image search each headshot via Google Images, TinEye, or Yandex.
Search each name on LinkedIn — verify employment history, mutual connections, posting cadence.
Cross-check claimed prior employers (e.g. 'ex-Goldman Sachs') against LinkedIn AND that firm's alumni database where possible.
Google '<full name>' + scam / fraud / lawsuit / warning.

Tools / registers

Google reverse image search — Global
TinEye — Global
LinkedIn — Global
PimEyes (face search) — Global

Stage-specific red flags

Headshot is a stock-photo or reverse-resolves to other 'CEO' / 'founder' pages.
No LinkedIn profile, or the profile is < 6 months old with < 50 connections.
Claimed prior employer cannot confirm the person worked there (or the role didn't exist).
Personal news search returns warnings, regulator actions, or unresolved lawsuits.

4Stage 4 — Track record verification

Goal

Confirm any trading results are independently auditable — not edited screenshots or self-published dashboards.

Steps

Demand a read-only third-party tracker link (Myfxbook, FX Blue, FXBook) covering ≥ 12 months.
Verify the tracker is set to public read-only API mode (not 'broker statement upload', which is forgeable).
Inspect: total trades (> 100), win rate, average R, profit factor, max drawdown, longest losing streak.
If audited returns are claimed, find the auditor's name + ICAEW/PCAOB/IFAC membership and contact them.
Match the equity curve's drawdowns to real market events (Q1 2020, Feb 2018 vol spike, etc.) — drawdowns that don't match real volatility are fabricated.

Tools / registers

Myfxbook — Global
FX Blue — Global
ICAEW Find a Chartered Accountant — UK auditors
PCAOB Registered Firms — US auditors

Stage-specific red flags

Refuses or stalls on a read-only tracker link.
Tracker is 'manual statement upload' rather than read-only API.
Track is < 100 trades or covers < 6 months.
Equity curve is suspiciously smooth or drawdowns don't match real market events.
Auditor name doesn't appear in the relevant professional body's register.

5Stage 5 — Community signal triangulation

Goal

Cross-check what the firm tells you against what the global retail community is reporting in independent forums.

Steps

Google '<firm name> scam' / 'review' / 'withdrawal' — read past page 1 for genuine signal.
Search Reddit r/Forex, r/CryptoCurrency, r/Scams for the firm name.
Check Trustpilot critically — read the 1-star reviews specifically (they usually have detail; 5-stars can be bought).
Check FX-related scam databases (FPA Scam Alerts, BrokersView).
Look for recurring patterns in complaints (withdrawal denials, account closures, missing funds).

Tools / registers

FPA Scam Alerts — Forex
Trustpilot — Global
Reddit r/Forex — Global
Reddit r/Scams — Global

Stage-specific red flags

Same recurring complaint across multiple platforms (e.g. withdrawal denial).
5-star reviews are all dated within a 2-week window — suggests a bought review campaign.
All criticism is met with identical aggressive lawyer-letter responses.
Firm appears in FPA Scam Alerts or BrokersView blacklist.

Key terms

Definition

UBO (Ultimate Beneficial Owner)

Definition

Appointed Representative (AR)

Definition

Sanctions / PEP screening

Risk grading

Low risk

Threshold: 0 red flags across 5 stages

Action: OK to start with a small live account ($100-500). Continue monitoring.

Medium risk

Threshold: 1-2 red flags total, none in Stages 1 (Identity) or 2 (Regulatory)

Action: Consider staying on demo only. If you proceed live, cap at < $100 and treat as expendable; do not scale.

High risk

Threshold: 3+ red flags, OR any red flag in Stage 1 / Stage 2

Action: Do not deposit. Tell anyone in your network considering this firm what you found.

Worked example — verifying “Elite Forex Capital”

Identity: Companies House search → no ‘Elite Forex Capital’ in active registrations. Only dissolved company with same name from 2019. → Red flag.
Regulatory: FCA Register search → returns no result. Site shows licence “FRN 999999” → also no result. → Red flag.
At this point, stop. Stages 1 and 2 both failed. Grade: HIGH RISK — do not deposit.
(Skipped: Team, Track record, Community.)

Total verification time: ~ 4 minutes. The brand name + “ex-Goldman” + “FCA” language gets the marketing-attention; the registers tell the truth.

Guided practice — pick one real firm + run the protocol

Real-world task

Independent practice — open these registers

Three real public registers / databases — open them and confirm you can find a familiar firm or look up something.

FCA Register

Search 'Hargreaves Lansdown' — large UK firm, verify scope.

Companies House

Look up any UK firm's directors + filing history.

OpenSanctions

Search any public name for sanctions hits.

Mastery check

Seven questions on the protocol, the registers, and the difference between strong vs weak verification signals. Pass at 6 of 7 (~ 80 %).

Verification Mastery Quiz

Test your understanding with 7 questions. Pass with 6/7 correct.

Reflect

Reflection

Type your honest answers — saved on this device only. Use them next week to spot patterns in your trading thinking.

Pick a firm you ran through the protocol. List the red flags (per stage) and your final risk grade.Which stage do you find hardest to execute, and what tool would make it faster?

Pro deep dive

Deeper digging — when the basics aren’t enough

UBO discovery through shell-company layersPro

Final notices and enforcement actionsPro

Broker rating-agency caveatsPro

On-chain verification for crypto projects

Smart-contract and token forensicsPro

Wallet labelling and money-flow analysisPro

Bibliography & further registers

Pro practice

Recall card — review in 1 week

Recall the 5-stage verification protocol in order, plus the hard stop rule.

Show answer

Next: Why FxRobotEasy is different

Educational material only — not investment advice. Trading carries risk of capital loss. Always practice on demo and use a stop-loss. ← Back to Scam Check