“Initially, all looks good as you transfer £250 into an account for a test. However, as the days pass and you are assured by positive reviews on Trustpilot, a £50 profit, and regular calls from Zurich, you elect to transfer another £1k+ and see the profit graph go up steeper.
Only when trying to then transfer via a third party (to save service charges and taxes you are told) then your bank account is frozen and you have a message to contact their fraud experts! They informed me that Equaledge ticks all the boxes when establishing a Scam outfit. Sounds familiar? I placed a withdrawal for my deposited credit but this was blocked and not processed in the advertised 2 days.
Here's what I've discovered:
1. Jackson Vega is listed on LinkedIn, 3 years ago, as a Crypto Marketing Manager in Milan. His Swiss number that comes up is fake - he used VOIP and so it's impossible to call this number.
2. The time stamp on his emails from me (shown in the thread) is GMT+2; I'm GMT. Switzerland is GMT+1. So, his company email device is in Eastern Europe or East Africa?
3. Despite advertising various credit cards, bank transfers, etc at the foot of the Home page, transactions are actually via an intermediary site (Admirria.tech for credit cards, an intermediary app for bank transfers). Admirria.tech describes itself as an "education and courses" website but actually also a cover to pass deposited funds from banks to Equaledge.co and several other scam brokers. The banks block transfers to crypto traders, and so this intermediary role overcomes the automatic blocking process. When you complete the payment link (provided by Equaledge.co), you ostensibly buy a course and are issued a receipt by Admirria.tech. Within minutes, the same sum appears in your Equaledge.co trading account! Here's the solution: you have up to 30 days to tell Admirria.tech that you are canceling your course and demand the total refund as per their T&Cs. Do it and get out NOW! Would a bona fide company actually use this method?
4. There are several more strong indicators, all establish this is a fake company. Just search Equaledge.co reviews and several sites other sad stories. Also, search Equaledge.com as their previous label has similar content.
No surprise to report that as of 21 Feb, my blocked withdrawal account has gone from £2.3k in credit to £0. Not bad for a successful investment company?!
I can now share an email from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority received on 28 Feb 24:
Thank you for contacting the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 22 February 2024 and for providing additional information.
Equaledge / Admirria Tech
I’ve conducted a search on the Financial Services Register (FS register) which is a public database of the firms we authorise and regulate and it also shows warning pages for unauthorised firms.
From the information provided, I've been unable to locate a firm called Equaledge which means they are not authorised by us - this may be a scam. I’d guide you to proceed with extreme caution, have no further dealings with them and not to pay them any more money.
I've also located a warning for a firm called Admirria Tech. This is an unauthorised firm that may be providing financial services or products in the UK without our permission and may be a scam. I’d guide you to proceed with extreme caution, have no further dealings with them and not to pay them any more money.
If a firm is offering certain investments or financial services in the UK or if they have any affiliation to the UK, then they should be authorised by the FCA to do this. If they're not authorised then they may be operating a scam and you wouldn’t have any protections in place if anything went wrong.”
“I faced issues accessing my phone number , preventing me from receiving the login code .
The customer service representative was incredibly helpful , providing multiple solutions and showing a high level of professionalism .”
“The platform is swift overall, though it is not flawless. The fees for certain transactions could be a bit lower. I am glad there have not been any bugs yet because the previous platform I used sometimes had missteps during transactions making it challenging to work...........😒😒”
“i'm really into most of the things they provide but that nightly reset at around 12 messes with my trading big time! it's a real hassle especially since i'm into both currency and futures trading and a 20 min halt causes a lot of inconvenience! i hope they can cut down on the reset time in the future!”
“Well as for now I can highlight its budget-friendly fees a variety of markets to explore and a gradual learning curve.... I am staying put for now and will surely revise my opinion later if there are any significant changes (but I hope everything will be ok)”
“Hey folks, big respect for your hard work! Just a quick note, though – my speedy feedback might push you to the max. I've got a suggestion! It'd be awesome to have a historical view of calendar events. This way, I can easily check releases and figures from past dates. Being able to scroll through previous calendar events, extending beyond the current day's upcoming events, would be super handy.”
“I love the transparent fees offered here. There's no hiding in a bid/ask spread or tricky extras... Although navigating the platform required some learning, having introductory videos for better understanding would be incredibly helpful....🤷🏼♂️”
“No doubt, it's a significant feature. HOWEVER.
Here's a brief input that could elevate your ratings beyond 11/10.
Just one thing.
It would be great to have a historical perspective for calendar events, allowing us to review past dates' releases and figures (with indefinite storage).
Furthermore, having the option to scroll through past calendar events, even when they aren't listed under the current day's upcoming events, in a chronological list spanning at least a week into the past, would be beneficial.”
