Overview of Winter Snow
Winter Snow claims that it is a professional and experienced broker, which is based in Hong Kong, China, while presenting neither details about its regulations nor legal documents. Lacking the above information may be a distinct characteristic of unlicensed brokers, as legit brokers always present their accreditation and licenses in a prominent position. As a forex trader, you should know that any regulated forex brokers in Hong Kong are monitored by the Securities And Futures Commission (HK SFC). Winter Snow is not under valid regulation to do forex by any regulators. Investors' funds in this broker are unsafe and cannot be protected by any law. Therefore, it is a scam.
Besides, since the official website “https://www.Winter Snowfx.com/” cannot be accessible for now, we were unable to obtain more information about its trading assets, minimum deposit, spreads and commissions, leverage, and more.
Is Winter Snow legit or a scam？
If you have decided to invest in financial instruments, and especially if you are a novice trader, you should use the services of a licensed broker based in a jurisdiction with strong regulations. It is advisable to choose a company that is regulated by an institution such as Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in US, Australian Securities and Exchanges Commission (ASIC), UKs Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or some EU regulator like Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
Winter Snow Forex has let us down when it comes to enforcing rules and regulations. This broker has been confirmed to be outside of the purview of any regulatory bodies. Over twenty traders have reported being defrauded by this broker on WikiFX, detailing their harrowing experiences. The unavailability of a withdrawal is the major issue with them. For whatever reason, this forex broker is not one that serious traders should consider using.
Be alert and cautious, as many unauthorized brokers misuse the license number provided to genuine brokers. Also, note that the broker should not be licensed by low-profile regulating authorities. It should be from high-profile regulators like the FCA, ASIC, SEC, CFTC, CySEC, CONSOB, BaFin, AMF, CNMV, etc.
Pros and Cons
Winter Snow is a trading broker that offers both pros and cons for potential clients. On the positive side, Winter Snow provides generous leverage of up to 1:400, allowing traders to potentially amplify their positions. The procedures to open an account are relatively simple, making it convenient for new clients to get started. Additionally, Winter Snow offers the popular MT5 trading platform, which is known for its advanced features and capabilities.
However, there are several drawbacks associated with Winter Snow. One major concern is that the brokerage is not regulated by prominent financial authorities, which may raise questions about the level of security and oversight. Another disadvantage is the high minimum deposit requirement of $5000, which might be prohibitive for some traders.
Moreover, Winter Snow has an inaccessible official website, making it difficult for potential clients to gather essential information about the company and its services. There is also a lack of transparency regarding account types, spreads, commissions, and withdrawal fees, which can be concerning for traders who value transparency and clarity in their dealings.
Customer support is limited to only two traditional types and the absence of 24/7 customer support further limits the responsiveness of the broker.
Market Instruments
On the website, we see a statement that the Winter Snow is offering trading in CFD products from six asset classes, including foreign exchange, stock, spot index, futures, spot precious metals, and spot energy.
At the same time, however, no information has been provided on the terms of trade. Legitimate forex brokers usually offer several types of trading accounts tailored to clients with different experience, capital, and investment intentions. They also provide detailed information on all trading parameters such as leverage, spread, commissions, and order execution method.
Given the lack of a Customer Agreement and other documentation, you have no way of knowing what terms you are agreeing to when you work with Winter Snow. In such circumstances it would be very unwise to put your money on the line.
There is no reason to take such a risk, given that for a very low minimum deposit you could open a starter account with a licensed and regulated broker.
Trading Platform
Although Winter Snow is obviously not a real broker, the website offers real trading software, and the most widely used in the industry at the moment – MetaTrader5 (MT5).
MetaTrader5 is offered by many well-known legal brokers. It is one of the versatile software packages used by many brokerage houses. It offers multi-asset class trading. One can rent or buy trading robots and specific technical indicators, and charts from the developer. Any broker can offer its clients a subscription to trade signals on this platform. Brokers can also rent virtual hosting on MT4 or MT5 servers for a fee.
It should be noted that the presence of some kind of trading software is no guarantee that this is a genuine broker. Financial scammers often use trading platforms to fool their victims that their money is actually being invested. However, this trading is entirely fictitious and the money goes directly into the scammers pockets.
It is advisable to contact one of the many legitimate brokers that offer MT5 or the still very popular MT4. These platforms have established themselves as leaders because they offer a wide range of features, including a wide variety of options for customization, multiple account usage, designing and implementing custom scripts for automated trading, and back-testing trade strategies.
Deposits & Withdrawals
Winter Snow claims to offer multiple payment methods for deposits and withdrawals, including wire transfer, debit/credit card, and unspecified online payments. We had no way of confirming this. Experience with such scam schemes shows that they rarely use conventional payment methods, whatever they claim. Most of them only use cryptocurrency transactions because they dont allow the defrauded person to ask for a refund.
The minimum deposit amount is not mentioned anywhere on Winter Snows website. Like most fraudulent or scam sites, Winter Snow forex broker also urges its clients to fund their accounts only through cryptocurrency. As everyone knows, cryptocurrency payments are anonymous, non-traceable, and non-refundable. As with every scam and fraud broker, withdrawal of your profits through trading or capital invested is virtually impossible for a common investor or trader.
Customer Support
It has three email IDs that you can contact, service@wintersans.com, ceo@Winter Snowfx.com, and cs@Winter Snowfx.com. Clients can also contact it via phone at 8526931603.
It seems that the broker lacks social media to contact with customers 24/7. However, it's important to note that the availability of contact channels can vary between different service providers. E-mail communication may not provide the immediacy or real-time support that some clients prefer.
Risk Warning
Though based in Hong Kong, it claims to operate from the USA. It is an unauthorized and unregulated broker. On its website, the broker falsely claims to be regulated in several jurisdictions. However, trading conditions, payment conditions, or fees are not mentioned. As stipulated in conditions withdrawal of bonuses requires a very high trading volume. An impractical and impossible target to achieve.
There is a level of danger that comes with trading on the financial markets. As sophisticated instruments, foreign exchange, futures, CFDs, and other financial contracts are typically traded using margin, which significantly increases the inherent risks involved. Therefore, you should consider carefully whether or not this sort of investment activity is right for you.
What to Do When Scammed？
It is very important not to rush into trusting people on the internet who offer to magically refund your money for a fee. These are also scammers, and they may even be the same ones who scammed you in the first place.
If you have made the transfers using credit or debit card, you can claim a charge back. Visa and MasterCard allow this to be done within 540 days. However, such a request may not be approved if you have given the fraudsters documents such as a copy of an ID and proof of address. This will allow them to claim that the transaction is legitimate and approved by both parties.
2023-01-22 12:31
