EToro, Trading & Criminal Records

The_Astronaut

Hi there,

I was wondering if you can help.

I've started doing a little investing on EToro. I set it up over a month ago, got the account verified and started trading. It's a bronze account and less than 1k in there so it's not small change but it's not huge in trading terms.

However an email today from EToro staff has requested that I now submit a 'clear criminal record' within 5 days else my account will be "limited". Is this normal requirement when investing/trading?

I have a clear criminal record - but when going request it from Police Scotland, the form states:

"Please be aware that it is a criminal offence for someone to require you to make a subject
access request - for example for your conviction history - in connection with:
- your recruitment or continued employment;
- any contract with you for the provision of services, e.g. as a self-employed person; or
- you being provided with goods, facilities or services, e.g. by an insurance provider"

This almost suggests that this isn't a legal request by Etoro.

An internet search for "Etoro Criminal Record" yields no relevant results. There is nothing listed on their website regarding this and relation to verification

Has anyone else on the platform had to do this?

Many thanks.

Alexland

Seems a very strange request but Etoro seem happy to encourage newbie retail customers into loss making CFD trading activity which should be criminal. If they don't want your business then I would consider that a lucky escape.

Suggest you pick a more reputable platform and take a longer term view on suitable investments.

Alex

jsinc

Have never heard of etoro but that sounds scammy. Would first send a message directly to an official address - checking it's really from them.

The_Astronaut

Thank you for the replies - it's an official customer support ticket within the platform so by all indications is official.

I queried the legal status but was just pointed to the T&C's which don't actually mention any requirement for users to supply police records.

I've put a message within the platform itself to see if anyone else is being asked this.

It's slightly dubious that they will bar me from withdrawing my money - effectively hold it to ransom - in absence of this document. I'll look into other platforms.

Reaper

I would never suggest using Trustpilot to choose a financial service but I notice eToro has many unhappy customers with 42% giving it the lowest possible rating.
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.etoro.com

Reaper

As an aside I got reading about them. It sounds like the prices on their platform which you trade at are delayed, which is extraordinary for a trading platform. They have banned various customers and reversed their trades wherever they suspect they are using the gap to make money (eg you see the price jump in real time then quickly buy at the out of date price on eToro). Their message to one customer they took the trading profits off:

We noticed that you engaged in trading activity that took advantage of the delayed pricing on our platform. Trading on the off-market gaps in the prices constitutes market abuse

Sounds like they are too tight to pay for up to date prices.

DrSyn

Have never heard of eTrto as far as I can remember.

Have never ever had a request for a 'clear criminal record' .

Did you do a simple search before you gave them your money?


My search produced this:-

https://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/etoro.com

https://www.scamdoc.com/view/2521


According to this
https://www.fxempire.com/brokers/etoro

76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

I do hope you are not a trader!

How and why did you chose eToro anyway?

Alexland

Reaper wrote: »

I would never suggest using Trustpilot to choose a financial service but I notice eToro has many unhappy customers with 42% giving it the lowest possible rating.

I can't think of anything good to say about their products and it's a shame they even exist as a bad first investment experience can stop people making very sensible investment choices later in life. It gives strength to the myth that stock market investing is always a total gamble when there are sensible ways to grow your money over the long term.

OP, get youself over to Vanguard Investor for some common sense investing.

Alex

The_Astronaut

Okay so I got a new response from the staff, they are satisfied with forms I filled in (employment history, funding sources) and have dropped the criminal record request which is good news and saves a lot of hassle.

It appears these are random checks on the platform - others have reported similar requests with the 5 day turnaround period but for other types of documents. Which isn't great if you're suddenly sprung with one of these and can't source these docs in that time. Adds uncertainty and risk.

I was recommended the platform independently by a few different people who I trust. The google play review for the app looked reasonable at 4.1/5. It was popular so I assumed robust and well-trodden. In hindsight should have performed more diligence. I was initially just intending to have a little dabble with a low value but that amount grew... as it does.

I've also been delving through trust pilot and those claims around pricing delays. Combined with comments here it's not looking like a sensible place to use so I'm going to close up, and take a little loss and the lesson. Thanks for the advice - I'll take a look at Vanguard.

EthicsGradient

Seems to me that you could point eToro at the Police Scotland quote (it's online here: https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/data-protection/subject-access-requests ) and ask them what they're playing at, because they seem to be breaking that law to me.

londoninvestor

Reaper wrote: »

As an aside I got reading about them. It sounds like the prices on their platform which you trade at are delayed, which is extraordinary for a trading platform. They have banned various customers and reversed their trades wherever they suspect they are using the gap to make money (eg you see the price jump in real time then quickly buy at the out of date price on eToro). Their message to one customer they took the trading profits off:

Sounds like they are too tight to pay for up to date prices.

Let me guess whether they reimbursed customers who got a worse price due to the delay...