12Trader

After reviewing 12Trader, we assess it as a high-risk, likely fraudulent broker. Below we break down exactly why, and what your options are if you have already deposited.

Who is 12Trader?

On the surface, 12Trader looks like an ordinary forex and crypto broker. Its public site is presented at https://www.12trader.com/. But surface impressions are exactly what these operations rely on — the substance behind 12Trader is where the problems begin.

Is 12Trader regulated?

12Trader provides no verifiable regulatory licence. An unregulated broker answers to no one: it can freeze withdrawals, invent fees, and disappear with deposits, all without consequence. This alone is reason enough to stay away.

Red flags we identified

• Unrealistic profit claims and pressure to deposit more
• Opaque or anonymous corporate ownership
• Offshore or shell-company registration used to avoid oversight
• Withdrawals reportedly blocked behind “taxes,” “fees” or account “upgrades”
• No credible physical address or verifiable corporate record

Our analysis

12Trader, operated by Safe Side Trading LTD, claims that it won award in 2014. However, we checked its domain and found the domain has been created in 2015. How could it win award in 2014? It is a red flag. 12Trader presents an address in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. So we searched Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Financial Services Authority (SVG FSA) but found no matching results. In other words, 12Trader is not registered here. Besides, SVG FSA is not a forex regulator. It does not regulate forex brokers or issue forex licenses. So having registration does not mean being authorized to provide financial services. 12Trader alco claims to be located in the UK. As per United Kingdom law, all firms and individuals offering, promoting, or selling financial services or products in the UK shall be authorized by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA). However, we did not find any matching results in UK FCA. That means 12Trader is not regulated in the UK. The truth is that 12Trader is not regulated by any regulators. Letting this broker hold or control investors' money is unsafe, and the money can not be protected by any laws. Therefore, it is a scam.

Can you recover money lost to 12Trader?

If you have deposited with 12Trader, do not pay any further “fees” to withdraw — that is part of the trap. Funds sent to operations like this can sometimes be traced on-chain and pursued through the exchanges and processors that received them. Whether recovery is realistic depends on how you paid and how quickly you act.