ThinkMarkets Clone Scam: Trader Faces Further Withdrawal Delay and "Unfreeze Account" Fee After Paying 10% of Balance

Cloned trading websites are a persistent threat to traders. They mimic legitimate trading platforms to bolster their fraudulent schemes.

Recently, a new cloned website impersonating the renowned forex broker ThinkMarkets has been exposed. The fraudulent site, operating under the URL m.thinkmarkes.com (a little different from ThinkMarkets’ official domain), demanded 10% of the account balance for withdrawal and an additional 20% to unfreeze his account, according to a trader’s complaint submitted to BrokersView. 

10% Withdrawal Fee Confuses Trader

When the trader requested to withdraw 100,000 USDT from the cloned website, he was asked to pay 10% of his balance to process the transaction. Despite his skepticism—"this doesn’t make sense to me"—he sent the amount, only to face further delays. 

Some legitimate brokers may charge withdrawal fees, but they're transparent and reasonable. They usually deduct fees automatically and never have upfront "deposit" requirements.

Incomplete Wallet Address Leads to Frozen Account: Excuse for Further Charging

The trader is new to trading. He said that he later attempted to withdraw but accidentally omitted the last letter of his wallet address when copying and pasting it. As a result, his trading account was frozen. Therefore, he was asked to pay an additional 20% of the total funds in his account to “thaw” his account. The specific amount was 30,740.01 USDT/USDC.

The amount was calculated based on his account balance of 153,700.09 USDT/USDC. However, the trader had only invested $25,000. As a result, the scammers fabricated a false return figure and demanded an exorbitant fee.

A mistyped or incomplete wallet address doesn’t lead to frozen accounts—it typically results in permanent crypto loss. Please note that no legitimate platform can recover funds sent to a wrong address, and no legitimate platform freezes your account over an address typo. 

The cloned platform also reassured the trader that “the unfreezing deposit paid after the unfreezing will be withdrawn together with the total withdrawal”. The claim of a “refundable fee” is just a lie. Scammers use this trick to gain trust and further exploit victims. 

The ThinkMarkets clone even created a sense of urgency. It asked the trader to complete the payment by 11:00 p.m. Pacific Time on March 31, 2025, five days after the last message he received, dated March 26.

Beware of Cloned Websites Like m.thinkmarkes.com

The fraudulent website m.thinkmarkes.com misuses ThinkMarkets’ name, logo, and branding to deceive unsuspecting traders. It is poorly designed, with broken or non-functional sections, and most buttons simply redirect to a login page. The website lacks real features and critical information, such as regulatory details, making it nothing more than a crude imitation of a trading website. 

We also find a subtle typo in its URL: "markes" instead of "markets", a warning sign of cloned sites. 

Always verify broker URLs through official channels before depositing funds, and never enter personal or financial details on suspicious pages. Do not deal with unregulated brokers.