Investor Protection

The off-exchange retail foreign currency market is one of most popular markets for speculation, due to its enormous size, liquidity and tendency for currencies to move in strong trends. Presumably, these characteristics would enable traders to have tremendous success. However, success has been limited mainly for the following reasons:

1. Many traders come with false expectations of the profit potential and lack the discipline required for trading. Short term trading is not an amateur's game and is usually not the path for quick riches. Because currencies may seem exotic or less familiar than traditional markets (i.e. equities, futures, etc.), it does not mean that the rules of finance and simple logic are suspended. One cannot hope to make extraordinary gains without taking extraordinary risks. A trading strategy that involves taking a high degree of risk means suffering inconsistent trading performance and often suffering large losses. Trading currencies is not easy (if it was, everyone would already be a millionaire), and many traders with years of experience still incur periodic losses. One must realize that trading takes time to master and there are absolutely no short cuts to this process.

2. The most enticing aspect of trading currencies is the high degree of leverage used. Leverage seems very attractive to those who are expecting to turn small amounts of money into large amounts in a short period of time. However, leverage is a double-edged sword. Just because one lot ($100,000) of currency only requires $1000 as a minimum margin deposit, it does not mean that a trader with $10,000 in his account should easily be able to trade 10 lots or even 5 lots. One lot is $100,000 and should be treated as a $100,000 investment and not the $1000 put up as margin. Most traders analyze the charts correctly and place sensible trades, yet they tend to over leverage themselves (take a position that is too big for their portfolio), and as a consequence, often end up forced to exit a position at the wrong time.

3. For example, if an account value is $10,000 and the trader places a trade for 1 lot, he is in effect, leveraging himself 10 to 1, which is a very significant level of leverage. Most professional money managers are not allowed to leverage even this high. Trading in small increments on the account will allow the trader to endure many losing trades without experiencing large monetary losses.

What is "Phishing"?

Because you are a valued customer, your security and privacy are important to us. Here at IBFX we want to provide tools and resources to help prevent identity theft and educate you on security.

Phishing is a high-tech scam that uses spam or pop-up messages to attempt to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, and/or other sensitive information.

Protect yourself from "Phishing".

• IBFX will never contact you via email or telephone and ask you for your username or password. If we need to contact you, we may ask you for information about your account or personal information to verify your identity. If you ever doubt the source of such a call, you may always insist to call us directly at 866.468.3739.
• Do not complete forms in email messages that ask personal financial information. IBFX will never ask you to complete such a form within the body of an email message.

What is "Pharming" or "Spoofing"?

"Pharming" refers to the redirection of an individual to an illegitimate website through technical means. For example, a trader who receives a fraudulent message may be redirected to an illegitimate website instead of accessing the intended website. To avoid this, double check the url when entering personal information into a website.

"Spoofing" is pretending to be something it is not, on the internet, usually an email or website.

Protect yourself from "Pharming" or "Spoofing".

Here are some things to check for before entering your username and password.

• Be sure to check the url before entering your username and password. The "s" at the end of "https" indicates the website you are viewing is secure.
• When you see this padlock, it means you are on a site with 128 bit SSL (secured socket layer) encryption (icon may appear at the bottom of your browser)
• Check your computer settings and turn off saving usernames and passwords if this feature is turned on.
• You can also click here to check the validity of the website.

Consumer Tips

• Never give out your personal financial information in response to an unsolicited phone call, fax, or email, no matter how official it may seem.
• Do not respond to email that may warn of dire consequences unless you validate your information immediately. Contact the company to confirm the email's validity using a telephone number or Web address you know to be genuine.
• Check your credit card and bank account statements regularly and look for unauthorized transactions, even small ones. Some thieves hope small transactions will go unnoticed. Report discrepancies immediately.
• If you have responded to a fraudulent email, contact IBFX immediately so we can protect your account and your identity.
• Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied. Always visit your browser's home page to download the latest security updates even if they don't alert you to do so.