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Pocket Option Review 2024: Is It a Scam? Our in-depth analysis

Franklin Silva| Updated January 16th, 2024

Hello, fellow investor! Upon analysing key factors regarding Pocket Option, we do not recommend opening an account with them. You should not ignore several red flags we have detected during our due diligence, which we’ll dive into in this review. 

As a side note, we have done a similar review on Quotex, another binary options broker which resembles a scam.

Looking for supervised and regulated brokers to invest in? Check our list of recommended brokers!

What is Pocket Option?

Pocket Option is a non-regulated online broker that exclusively offers binary options, a financial product where your payoff is “all or nothing” within a time frame defined by you. Let’s say that Apple is trading at $100, and you believe it will be trading above that in the next 5 minutes. You get your money back plus a premium if the stock is above $100. If it finishes below $100, you lose all your money. That’s it.

Is Pocket Option Regulated?

By exploring their website, we detected a notorious red flag: Pocket Option has no regulatory approval. Our first action in any broker review is to assess if reputable financial authorities regulate the platform within the US, European Union and/or the UK, like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a criteria that Pocket Option did not pass.

The company behind the Pocket Option website, Infinite Trade LLC, is registered in the Republic Of Costa Rica, San Jose. The real owner of Pocket Options changes the name frequently, as previously it was named “Gembell Limited”, a company registered in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, an offshore tax haven. It is not supervised by top-tier regulators, and there is no guarantee that investors will be compensated if the broker goes bankrupt. Investor protection schemes are reliable within the US, EU or UK financial regulatory environment but not in tax havens.

Indeed, the FCA has already issued a warning stating that the firm is not authorised to provide, promote or offer financial services or products in the UK. 

infinite trade llc

Pocket Option website footer

As said earlier, please keep in mind that it is common for these kinds of firms to change names regularly.

Pocket Option makes an effort to look secure and reliable by stating that the Mwali International Services Authority regulates it. However, this is not an official regulatory authority.

Finally, it was difficult to find any details about the company. There is no LinkedIn company page, no information on the employees… Nothing.

Trustpilot Reviews: Are they fake?

If you search for “Pocket Option” in Trustpilot, you get a 3.6-star classification with 2,900+ reviews. After carefully reading through dozens of reviews, we believe that most positive feedback is untrustworthy. We actually think most of these are fake. Many of these reviews use broad statements, lack details, and use language that is not typical of a genuine customer.

Another thing to note is that most of the positive reviews had been written by people with no other reviews posted on Trustpilot:

Dubious Trust Pilot Reviews

Moreover, Pocket Option has no verified 5-star reviews of their platform, which makes us question the validity of how satisfied their customers really are:

Lack of verified reviews

Finally, we can clearly see a pattern of complaints from the negative reviews: difficulties when withdrawing your money, price discrepancies and chart manipulations.

Aggressive Sales Approach

A typical behaviour within platforms that want to take your money as soon as possible is to create a feeling of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Within the homepage, two elements stand out:

  • Continuous pop-ups in the bottom left corner of the screen with messages like “David earned $250 in 32 seconds”
  • A Registration fill out that is impossible to hide

Unavoidable Sign-up Form

These practices are rarely present, if ever, in regulated online brokers.

As if that weren’t enough, Pocket Option shows a pop-up message that appears after browsing their website for a while (It shows 13:06 minutes since I was exploring other related websites while having their page open). This is clearly an aggressive sales tactic to show that “you are wasting your time” by wanting to know more about the platform before signing up.

Pop-ups that are meant to trigger the fear of missing out

So, is Pocket Option a scam?

At Investing in the Web, we are 99% convinced that you are not safe putting your money in this company. Since it is missing the 1%, we will “control” ourselves and not call it a scam, but it operates very dubiously.

Again, we strongly recommend not investing in companies with so many red flags, no matter how appealing their offering might be (Pocket Option minimum deposit, demo account or even a Pocket Option promo code).

Regulated and Supervised Online Brokers (Our Recommendations)

There is a wide range of brokers where you can feel safe investing your hard-earned money. These options are fully regulated, have low fees, have good customer support, and have an easy-to-use investment platform, among others! Please take a look at the best ones:

Pocket Option Review 2024: Is It a Scam? Our in-depth analysis 2

1# Best Overall Online Broker

Min. deposit of €/$0
Offers interest on uninvested cash balances
Excellent reputation (founded in 1978)
View BrokerPocket Option Review 2024: Is It a Scam? Our in-depth analysis 3Read review
About/Overview Text

IBKR is a leading global online broker which provides an advanced trading platform, a large selection of tradable securities, and low fees. It also launched IBKR GlobalTrader.

Supported countriesWorldwide (exceptions apply)Fractional sharesYes
RegulatorsFINRA, SIPC, SEC, CFTC, IIROC, FCA, CBI, AFSL, SFC, SEBI, MAS and MNB.Interest on uninvested cashEUR: 3.467%; USD: 4.83%; GBP: 4.75% (as of January 2024)
Products and MarketsStocks, ETFs, Options, Futures, Forex, Commodities, Bonds and Funds.
Pocket Option Review 2024: Is It a Scam? Our in-depth analysis 4

2# Best for commission-free investing and social trading

Min. deposit of $50 (varies between countries)
$0 for stocks and ETFs (other fees apply)
Demo account
View BrokerPocket Option Review 2024: Is It a Scam? Our in-depth analysis 3Read review
About/Overview Text

The leading social trading platform with 30M+ users worldwide. Copy other traders/investors, invest in one of the pre-built portfolios, or trade for yourself.

Supported countriesWorldwide (exceptions apply)Fractional sharesYes
RegulatorsFCA, CySEC and ASIC.Interest on uninvested cashUp to 5.3% in USD
Products and MarketsStocks, ETFs, Cryptocurrencies and CFDs on Stocks, ETFs, Commodities, Forex, Indices and Cryptocurrencies.

76% of retail CFD accounts lose money.

Pocket Option Review 2024: Is It a Scam? Our in-depth analysis 6

3# Best Low-Cost US Broker

Min. deposit of $0
$0 for stocks, ETFs and Options
Demo account
View BrokerPocket Option Review 2024: Is It a Scam? Our in-depth analysis 3Read review
About/Overview Text

Webull is a commission-free investment platform (desktop and app) from the US. It offers trading in stocks, options, ETFs, cryptos, fractional shares, and even Over-The-Counter (OTC) stocks. New users get up to 12 free stocks.

Supported countriesUS, UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Japan and Mexico.Fractional sharesYes
RegulatorsSEC, FINRA, SFCInterest on uninvested cashUSD: 5.00%
Products and MarketsStocks, ETFs, Options
Pocket Option Review 2024: Is It a Scam? Our in-depth analysis 8

4# Best US Broker for Fees Transparency

Min. deposit of $0
$0 for US stocks
Valuable education resources
View BrokerPocket Option Review 2024: Is It a Scam? Our in-depth analysis 3
About/Overview Text

Public.com is an investment app that displays a set of plain vanilla assets: stocks and ETFs plus crypto. It expanded to offer fractional shares investments in high-performing stocks that could otherwise easily cost you thousands of dollars per share (look at Google or Amazon, for instance).

Supported countriesUS and UKFractional sharesYes
RegulatorsSEC and FINRAInterest on uninvested cashUSD: 5.40%
Products and MarketsStocks, ETFs, Crypto, Fine art, collectibles and Treasuries

The bottom line

There is some information you should verify before considering opening an account with any broker:

  • Always double-check if the platform is regulated in major developed countries (US, UK, and EU);
  • Search on reputable regulators’ websites (FCA, SEC,…) to check if the platform is registered or, on the other hand, is on a warning list;
  • If you feel a “salesy” approach, dig deeper;
  • Do not trust all reviews you read online (check several sources), particularly if no negative points are mentioned.

We hope you found this review useful!

Other FAQs

What are Binary Options?

Binary options are a complex financial product with only two outcomes: win or lose. Binary options have an expiration date (set by you), a strike price and a specific payoff. Let’s use an example for better understanding: For example, it is Monday morning, and you believe stock X will be trading above $85 at 2:30 p.m. Through a binary option, you can bet that the stock will finish above $85. If it does, you win. If not, you lose the amount you bet. It resembles gambling more than investing. Given the all-or-nothing payout structure, binary options are sometimes referred to as “all-or-nothing options” or “fixed-return options.”

Please note that binary options differ from more conventional options since the latter lets you manage your position (trading the option before the expiration date). While a binary option is an “all or nothing” approach.

How does Pocket Option make money?

Supposedly, Pocket Options make money by providing a lower payout ratio when someone earns. Example: You bet $50 that stock Y will rise above $20 in the next minute. Another person believes it will drop below $20, an opposite view to yours. Pocket Option may pay, for instance, $40 to the winner. So, one of the investors will lose the $50, and the other will win $90 (initial $50 + $40), so Pocket Option keeps the $10 for itself.

Franklin Silva
Co-Founder & Fintech Analyst

Franklin is a CFA Level III Candidate with 3 years of experience in Wealth Management as a Fund Research Analyst and the Host of the "Edge Over Hedge" YouTube Channel.

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