Strifor

Investigating Strifor: A Comprehensive Review

Our Strifor review focuses on a CFD and Forex broker that desperately wants to appear legitimate. The company claims to always pay out, attracts clients by accruing interest on deposits, and advertises numerous advantages. However, this does little to inspire trust. We’ll explain why in more detail in our brief review below.

Key Takeaways

• The company operates without registration and constantly provides false information.
• From the very beginning, the broker lacked licenses. The pseudo-license from The Financial Commission, purchased in April 2024, is not an adequate substitute for documents from reputable regulators.
• Depositing and withdrawing funds via cryptocurrencies or less secure payment systems should make traders question the safety of their funds.

Is Strifor Trustworthy?

The main issue with Strifor is its unsuccessful attempts to present itself as a legitimately registered company with a solid license. However, none of the information provided holds up under scrutiny.

Let’s start with Strifor Ltd, which allegedly owns the broker and its official website. The footer of the page states that it is registered in the Marshall Islands, even providing an address and registration number. The Customer Agreement (referred to as Terms & Conditions of Services on the website) is also issued in its name.

However, a check in the registry of this offshore jurisdiction reveals that the provided information is false. The registration number MH96960 indeed appears in the Marshall Islands’ company database but belongs to a company named DIAMOND PRODUCT TANKERS LTD, which was established in 2018 and remains active to this day.

Moreover, on the website one can also find information that a legal entity in the Marshall Islands is registered with the number 119264. We checked this and found that Strifor Ltd. with entity number 119264 actually existed from March 31, 2023 to April 23, 2024, after which it was annulled. Excellent!

Move on. Until mid-2023, the broker used a different owner name—Strifor LLC—claiming it was registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with number 1779. This information is easily found in web archive snapshots. Interestingly, this number has belonged to To the Moon LLC in the SVGFSA registry since January 12, 2022. Not quite Strifor, is it?

We didn’t bother checking the details of another entity, 7 LUCKY TRADING (MAURITIUS) LTD, with an address and license in Mauritius. Firstly, it’s unclear how it relates to the platform. Secondly, it’s pointless because the broker itself states that this company does not operate the MetaTrader 5 software or engage in trading. Moreover, this company is not found among license holders issued by the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius.

The broker’s contact information includes a Cyprus address, but we suspect it’s also fake. After all, why would a company need a real office in Cyprus if it doesn’t serve citizens and residents of the EU, EEA, or UK (as stated in the footer)?

In reality, Strifor Ltd has no official registration. On what basis does it offer brokerage services? Its activities are entirely illegal. Considering its extensive experience in impersonating other real companies, the question of trust becomes moot. Who would trust blatant scammers?

Despite this, the broker tries to appear legitimate. To this end, it has even purchased a license from The Financial Commission.

However, this was only done in March 2024. Prior to that, the platform’s owners didn’t even consider such a cover. Judging by the reviews, most traders do not trust this self-proclaimed regulator, which lacks any real authority. But some brokers consider its certificates a viable alternative to offshore regulatory licenses.

Amazingly, there are clients who find this set of official data sufficient. Otherwise, it’s hard to explain the long history of such a dubious broker.

Strifor claims to have been founded in 2020 as a B2B platform, starting to offer brokerage services to private clients in 2021. This is confirmed by whois data, showing the domain strifor.org was registered in December 2021.

However, web archive snapshots indicate that activity only began in July 2022. We’ll assume that those 8 months were spent developing the first version of the site. Since then, its design has changed several times, as have the key details about the company. Yet, the owner of the domain strifor.org has remained the same.

This suggests that traders have been funding it (without which the internet service would likely be unnecessary). Clearly, the company’s specialists possess considerable persuasive skills, having managed to attract users to a non-existent firm.

Strifor’s activities also exhibit other signs of at least irresponsible behavior regarding the information published. For example, the About section on the homepage mentions five types of accounts, while the Trading Account page lists only four.

On the homepage, the broker compares some of its trading conditions with those of other Forex and CFD brokers. This comparison is manipulative, as it selects indicators where Strifor excels. For example, the swap rates for US stock indices are compared, but the long swap rate for the EURUSD pair is -9.46%, whereas most competitors lie around -0.01%. A slight difference of just 1000 times, right?

Furthermore, the broker openly offers bonuses. All reputable regulators prohibit their use, yet Strifor’s 50-100% deposit bonus is a common incentive for clients. Clearly, no genuine licenses are involved (The Financial Commission doesn’t count, as it imposes no restrictions on brokers).

Exploring Fees and Charges

Strifor knows how to make a profit. We’ve already mentioned the rather high swaps, some of the worst in the industry. It’s also worth mentioning the combination of spreads and trading commissions. Apparently, the company uses a DD model (who would accept it, for example, in an ECN network without official registration). Thus, it earns from both spreads and trading commissions. Moreover, it also profits from all the trader’s losses. “Nothing personal, it’s just business.”

Fortunately, the broker does not charge fees for non-trading operations. However, just one look at the set of payment methods is enough to say that safety and transparency are out of the question. Strifor clients can see in their personal account that they can only fund their account with cryptocurrencies or using electronic payment systems like PerfectMoney and AdvCash. In short, there’s nothing better for hiding the company’s own details. Transparency of operations ends there.

By the way, system fees are always paid by the company’s clients. Even here, the broker doesn’t want to lose a single cent.

How User-Friendly Is the Trading Platform?

The one thing that can’t be criticized is the broker’s trading terminal. MetaTrader 5 has been officially purchased. Every trader knows its advantages and disadvantages, so there’s no need to dwell on them.

What Do Clients Say?

Over such a long period of operation, many Strifor reviews can be found online. They are far from unanimous. Some comments are clearly bought by the broker to create a positive image. There are neutral ones where traders note the best aspects of the trading platform and the broker’s acceptable trading conditions.

However, there are dozens of clearly negative posts. Most of their authors have two main complaints:

1. Fraud and operation without official registration and a reputable license.
2. Problems with withdrawing funds.

Final Thoughts: Can You Rely on Strifor?

Our Strifor review revealed that the broker has operated without official registration throughout its existence. Even the license from the self-proclaimed regulator The Financial Commission was only acquired in April 2024. Thus, the company does not inspire trust. Other arguments supporting this view are the subpar payment methods and negative reviews highlighting payment issues. We would advise staying away from this platform.

Strengths and Weaknesses