What is copy trading abuse in prop firms?
Quick answer
Copy trading abuse occurs when the same trades are copied across several funded accounts, often belonging to different people, so that one strategy collects many payouts. It concentrates risk, since a profitable signal pays out many times. Most firms prohibit copying third-party signals across funded accounts.
Detailed answer
Forms it takes:
- A signal group's members all copy the same trades on their funded accounts.
- One trader runs several accounts under friends' names with a trade copier.
- A paid service trades many clients' accounts identically.
Why it matters:
- Payouts multiply for a single strategy.
- It often hides other abuse, such as hedging between accounts.
Many firms allow copying between a trader's own accounts within limits and ban copying across different people. Whatever you decide, write it into your terms. Detection relies on trade data from all accounts; PropExecutor's API returns every deal per account, which you can compare for matching instruments, times and sizes.
Example policy wording
"You may copy trades between your own accounts with us. Copying trades from, or to, accounts held by other people, or from third-party signal services across multiple funded accounts, is not allowed and may result in profits being removed."
Make it visible
Put the policy on the rules page, not only in the terms.
PropExecutor team · Updated
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