Is Raw Trading Ltd a Scam?

When we at FXCanary sit down to assess a broker, we start from a deliberately sceptical position: a broker is not safe until it has proven itself to us, not the other way around. We cross-check the legal entity against official registers, verify the domain against the regulator's records, and look for any history of clones, impersonators or regulatory sanctions. Only then do we weigh the protective frameworks that actually matter to a client — segregation of funds, compensation schemes, negative-balance protection and the quality of oversight.

For Raw Trading Ltd, operating at icmarkets.sc, our assessment is built on a thin but consistent evidence base. The entity is registered in Seychelles and holds a single licence from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles as a Securities Dealer, licence, status Licensed. That is the entirety of the regulatory picture we have on file. There are no independent user reviews of this specific entity yet, and the web results we examined describe a broker with a much longer history and multiple regulators — a mismatch we treat with caution. In FXCanary's assessment, the absence of independent verification is itself a finding, and it is why our Scam Risk score sits at 40/100, a 'Guarded' rating.

The only regulator on file for Raw Trading Ltd is the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles, under licence. The FSA is the autonomous body responsible for non-bank financial services in Seychelles, established under the Financial Services Authority Act, 2013. It is a real regulator with a public register, and we were able to confirm the licence status as 'Licensed' from our records. That is meaningful — it means the entity is not operating in a complete regulatory vacuum.

However, we must be blunt about what a Seychelles licence does and does not offer. The FSA is widely regarded as a light-touch, offshore regulator. It does not operate a client compensation scheme comparable to the UK's FSCS or the EU's investor protection frameworks.

There is no statutory guarantee that your funds will be returned if the broker fails, and the oversight is far less intensive than in major financial centres. For a trader, this means the Seychelles licence is a baseline of legitimacy, not a shield. In FXCanary's assessment, the 'offshore, light oversight' flag on this broker is justified and should be taken seriously.

When we look at client fund protection, we ask three questions: are client funds segregated from the broker's own money, is there a compensation scheme, and is there negative-balance protection? For Raw Trading Ltd, our records do not confirm any of these protections explicitly. The FSA Seychelles regime does not mandate a compensation scheme, and we have no evidence that one exists for this entity. Segregation of client funds is a common industry practice even among offshore brokers, but it is not something we can verify from the known facts alone.

Negative-balance protection — the guarantee that you cannot lose more than your deposit — is also not confirmed. In many offshore jurisdictions, this is not a regulatory requirement, and it is often offered at the broker's discretion, if at all. The web results we reviewed mention leverage up to 1:1000, which is a red flag in itself: high leverage amplifies losses, and without negative-balance protection, a sharp market move can leave you owing more than you deposited. In FXCanary's assessment, the absence of confirmed protections is a material gap that a cautious trader must weigh before committing funds.

Our records show zero clone or impersonator sites for Raw Trading Ltd. That is a positive finding — it means we have not detected fraudulent websites pretending to be this broker, which is common for well-known brands. However, this is a double-edged sword. The lack of clones may simply reflect the broker's low profile; scammers tend to impersonate brokers with large client bases, and Raw Trading Ltd, at least under this name, does not yet have that visibility.

That said, the web results we examined reveal a significant naming hazard. The domain icmarkets.sc is associated with 'IC Markets' and 'IC Markets Global', a broker with a much longer history, founded in 2007 in Australia, and regulated in multiple jurisdictions. The entity Raw Trading Ltd is described in some third-party reviews as the international arm of IC Markets. If that is accurate, then the brand recognition is real, and the risk of confusion — and of scammers exploiting that confusion — is elevated. We cannot confirm the corporate link from our records, and we treat third-party claims with caution, but the overlap in branding is a genuine concern for traders who may think they are dealing with a more heavily regulated entity.

The web search results we reviewed are dominated by the IC Markets brand, with pages describing account types, spreads, and a global operation. We found references to Raw Trading Ltd as the entity behind IC Markets' international business, but we could not verify this from official registers in our possession. The results also mention a range of account types — Raw Pro+, Raw Pro, Raw Spread, and Standard — with commissions and spreads that vary by account. We do not treat these figures as verified facts for Raw Trading Ltd, because the web results may describe a different legal entity with a similar brand.

In FXCanary's assessment, this is a classic case where the web presence is richer than the verifiable regulatory record. The broker's own website at icmarkets.sc claims authorisation by the FSA, which matches our records, but the broader claims — such as 'award-winning' platforms or 'market leading' spreads — are marketing language that we do not endorse. We also note that the web results include a third-party review stating that Raw Trading Ltd refuses residents of New Zealand and Israel, and that US clients are not accepted. We cannot verify these restrictions from our records, but they are plausible for an offshore entity and worth flagging.

One of the most striking findings in our research is the complete absence of independent user reviews for Raw Trading Ltd. In an industry where traders are quick to share both praise and grievances, a total silence is unusual. It could mean the broker is new, or that its clients are concentrated in regions where review culture is less developed, or simply that the entity operates under a different name that attracts the reviews. We cannot determine which, and we will not speculate beyond that.

For a trader, this absence is a warning sign in itself. Reviews are not the only measure of a broker's reliability, but they are a useful source of real-world experience — issues with withdrawals, slippage, or customer support often surface there first. Without any independent feedback, you are relying entirely on the broker's own marketing and the thin regulatory record. In FXCanary's assessment, the lack of reviews is a reason to proceed with extra caution, not to assume the worst, but to demand more evidence before committing significant capital.

If you are considering trading with Raw Trading Ltd, there are concrete steps you can take to reduce your risk. First, verify the licence yourself. Go to the FSA Seychelles public register and confirm that licence is active and held by Raw Trading Ltd, not by a similarly named entity.

Do not rely on the broker's website to prove its own legitimacy — that is circular. Second, start with a small deposit that you can afford to lose entirely. This is not a comment on the broker's integrity, but a standard precaution when dealing with an offshore entity with limited oversight.

Third, read the terms and conditions carefully, especially around leverage, negative-balance protection, and withdrawal policies. If the broker does not explicitly guarantee negative-balance protection, assume it is not provided. Fourth, use a separate email address and a strong, unique password for your trading account, and enable two-factor authentication if available. Finally, keep records of all communications and transactions. If something goes wrong, you will need evidence to pursue a complaint, and with an offshore regulator, the burden of proof is likely to be on you.

In FXCanary's assessment, Raw Trading Ltd is not an obvious scam, but it is a broker that demands a high degree of caution. The Seychelles licence is real, and we found no evidence of clones or impersonators, which are positive signs. However, the offshore regulatory framework offers limited client protection, the absence of independent reviews leaves a significant information gap, and the branding overlap with a larger, more established broker creates a real risk of confusion.

Our Scam Risk score of 40/100 — 'Guarded' — reflects this balance. It is not a recommendation to trade, nor is it an accusation of wrongdoing. It is a warning that the protections you might expect from a major regulated broker are not confirmed here, and that you should proceed only with money you can afford to lose, and only after conducting your own due diligence. For most retail traders, we would suggest looking for a broker with a stronger regulatory framework and a verifiable track record before committing funds.