How do I know if a trading track record is real?

Screenshots prove nothing. A terminal window can be edited in a browser in about thirty seconds, and a spreadsheet or video proves less than that. The minimum acceptable evidence is a third-party service connected through the investor password, which computes the statistics from the broker's own trade history.

That verification answers exactly one question: did these trades happen on this account. It is genuinely valuable and it is narrower than most people assume. A fully verified record is compatible with a demo account, with an account that trades different settings from the product sold, and with the survivor of twenty accounts launched simultaneously.

Account age and continuity are the defences verification does not provide. Three years through conditions that hurt is evidence. Six months beginning at a convenient moment is a selection, and no badge distinguishes the two.

The order to check things in

Verified badges first — both track record and trading privileges. Then account type, because there is no point analysing the drawdown of a demo. Then age and trade count, then maximum drawdown, then deposit load.

Read the gain figure knowing that it compounds early periods forever, so a large return earned while the account was tiny keeps its full weight. Open the monthly breakdown rather than trusting the headline.