Proprietary trading is one of the latest scams spreading rapidly within the online trading industry. Numerous scam trading platforms have emerged, falsely presenting themselves as legitimate prop firms offering funded trading accounts. These firms typically extract money from unsuspecting investors under the guise of:
- Trading challenge fees, where participants must pay a set amount to enter a challenge that supposedly qualifies them for a funded account if they succeed. In most cases, there’s no genuine challenge. Instead, the platforms employ various tactics designed to make candidates fail, ultimately robbing them of any chance to secure a funded account.
- Subscription fees that supposedly give traders access to funded accounts. In reality, the accounts are not genuinely funded. Instead, traders are connected to fake trading software that isn’t linked to real financial markets. The software simulates fictitious trading environments with predetermined outcomes where the trader never sees any actual profit.
While many schemes have operated under the guise of proprietary trading, the following are the top 6 proprietary trading scams of all time.
1. True Forex Funds
www.trueforexfunds.com
True Forex Funds may be remembered as one of the worst proprietary trading scams in recent times.
Reports suggest that the alleged prop trading firm has shut down with hundreds of pending payouts totaling approximately $1.2 million.
This comes despite earlier criticism from customers over denied or delayed payments.
Some traders claimed their accounts were halted or banned just before scheduled payouts, raising serious concerns about the company’s integrity.
The official website of True Forex Funds, trueforexfunds.com, displays nothing more than a notice stating that the company will be closing permanently.
To make matters worse, TFF has not provided any guidance on how clients can retrieve their money.
This suggests that it may have been orchestrating an exit scam in its final days. It explains the payment issues and the sudden, unexplained account suspensions and closures.
2. Funded Academy – A Notorious Proprietary Trading Scheme
www.fundedtraderacademy.com
Funded Academy is a questionable prop firm that promises funded traders the potential to make up to more than $10K monthly.
The company claims to offer funded accounts with various capital levels, ranging from $5K, $10K, $25K, $50K, and $100K to $200K and even up to $1 million, allowing traders to keep 80% of the profits.
Funded Academy imposes multiple fees, making it an expensive service.
For instance, apart from the monthly subscription fee of between $49 and $99, the company additionally charges trading challenge fees, depending on the trading capital level selected.
Additionally, an extra fee may apply on the trading software you select e.g. cTrader, on top of the charges mentioned above.
Notably, Funded Academy has been surrounded by serious accusations and controversies, putting its reputation in question.
For example, it has been accused of buying fake reviews and making it difficult for customers who have deposited funds to contact customer support.
Owing to that, many reliable broker review platforms, including Traders Union, have categorized it as a scam. As such, you should not deal with this platform.
3. BluFX
www.blufx.co.uk OR www.blu-fx.uk
The FCA issued a public alert against BluFX in 2022 warning that this supposed prop trading firm was operating illegally in the United Kingdom.
Further, the UK’s financial services regulator listed the following domains and social media URLs as being associated with the questionable entity:
- www.blufx.co.uk—unreachable.
- www.blu-fx.uk—no longer reachable.
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blufx.traders.
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCabi8NLIxAzkjwb4wfW3gvQ.
- Discord: https://tinyurl.com/blufxdiscord.
Additionally, it listed the following physical addresses as being associated with this suspicious entity:
- United Kingdom: 1A Old Bond Street, London, UNITED KINGDOM, W1S 4PB.
- UAE: Dubai Silicon Oasis, DDP, Building A, Dubai.
BluFX used a clever strategy to look trustworthy and attract many investors.
Unlike many dubious proprietary trading firms, it did not offer any challenge as a prerequisite for qualifying for funding.
Neither did it impose an upfront fee. Instead, it provided immediate funding without requiring traders to pass evaluation phases.
But there was a catch— users had to pay a monthly fee of at least $99 to access its services.
Notably, a broker review platform, Traders Union, initially published a review that seemingly legitimized BluFX.
It later published another review, recanting its previous position on the trustworthiness of the supposed prop firm.
While the BluFX domains listed above are no longer reachable, I’ve seen several domains with almost the same name.
It’s safe to avoid such domains because it’s hard to tell whether they are connected to this questionable entity or merely happen to share a similar name.
4. My Forex Funds – One Of Worst Proprietary Trading Scams
www.myforexfunds.com
My Forex Funds, operated under the legal name ‘Traders Global’ or ‘Traders Global Inc.’
The purported proprietary trading firm ceased operations in 2023, and its domain, myforexfunds.com, immediately became unavailable.
The disruption happened after the U.S. and Canadian governments acted against it for engaging in fraud and regulatory violations.
Following the shutdown, many investors have been unable to retrieve their funds even though the CFTC is seeking restitution for them.
Notably, My Forex Funds promised traders funded accounts with trading funds ranging from $5,000 to $300,000.
It appealed to many investors, attracting 135,000 customers who paid at least $310 million in “fees” over the course of its existence.
Users were required to pay fees ranging from $49 to a whopping $4900, depending on the program selected.
They were also required to maintain a certain “minimum balance”, in the name of a “drawdown limit.”
However, the company seemingly gamed investors by secretly deploying specialized software to stack the odds against them. The software worked by maliciously delaying order execution or inducing slippage.
5. The Funded Trader
www.thefundedtraderprogram.com
The Funded Trader is a suspicious proprietary trading firm that promises traders funded trading accounts.
The company claims to offer funded accounts with capital allocations of up to $600,000 and let traders keep 95% of the profits. It further asserts that it allows traders to make money trading on demo accounts.
But here’s the catch—-to participate in the challenge, traders must pay an upfront fee ranging from $129 to $1499, depending on the funding amount selected, a typical red flag.
The available funding options are $5,000, $10,000, $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, and $200,000.
Notably, there have been numerous complaints from traders regarding delayed payouts and unresponsive customer support.
In fact, these issues led to the company temporarily shutting down its operations in 2024.
In response, its CEO announced that the entity was going to conduct an internal audit to “address” them.
One year later, the company has not publicly released the findings of its “internal audit” despite resuming operations.
To make matters worse, many investors have not yet received their payouts.
It suggests that the announcement may have been a mere PR exercise to appease frustrated customers and counter then-growing public criticism.
6. Mena Funding
www.menafunding.com
Mena Funding is a shady prop trading firm with questionable background details.
The company claims to offer simulated funded trading challenges, advertising funding of up to $600,000 and promising traders up to 90% of the profits.
Mena Funding requires traders to pay $45 upfront to enter a challenge that supposedly qualifies them for trading capital.
Its domain (menafunding.com) has since been shut down, seemingly by the registrar.
According to DomainTools, the domain was created in 2020 and was set to expire in 2029. The records further show that it was last updated in January 2024.
However, the company’s LinkedIn page remains active with only 29 followers.
On this page, the company claims to be based in Dubai, UAE.
On the contrary, I found conflicting background details of Mena Funding on the Trusted Prop.
The broker review and comparison platform claims that Mena Funding operates under the legal name “Mena Funding Limited”.
It further asserts that the company is registered in Singapore with license #3243388, and its CEO is called “Zayn”.
The MAS licenses and supervises online trading platforms registered in Singapore.
I checked MAS’s online register but found no information about Mena Funding, suggesting that its purported background details are fake.
Be cautious, Mena Funding appears to be running a proprietary trading scam on LinkedIn after its domain was pulled down seemingly by authorities.
Avoid any company page or profile named ‘Mena Funding,’ on LinkedIn as it could be part of this ongoing scam.
Final Thoughts About Proprietary Trading Scams
To sum up, prop trading scams have become a serious concern in the online trading realm, with many dubious platforms preying on unsuspecting investors.
These scams often disguise themselves as legitimate prop firms offering funded accounts, while secretly employing deceptive methods to rob investors of their hard-earned money.
The six scams discussed(i.e.True Forex Funds, Funded Academy, BluFX, My Forex Funds, The Funded Trader, and Mena Funding) have all been recognized as some of the biggest prop trading scams ever witnessed in the online trading realm. They serve as stark examples of how deceptive tactics can ruin traders.
Always do thorough due diligence before committing to any purported proprietary trading platform while being aware of red flags.
These include upfront fees with no money back guarantee, withdrawal issues, questionable company background details, and poor customer support.
Report A Proprietary Trading Scam
Have you fallen victim to a proprietary trading scam? Go to this page, or email scamread@scamreader.info to report the scam and seek help.