CySEC Warns Against Nine Websites Operating Without Authorization
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The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has issued a warning against nine websites that do not have the proper licenses. The regulator has said that the nine unlicensed websites that the regulator has warned against provide retail traders with access to a wide range of financial instruments.
CySEC warns against nine unlicensed websites
The websites that the CySEC has warned about offer support to multiple asset classes, including foreign exchange, contracts for difference, and cryptocurrency trading. One of the websites that have been targeted in the warning is a clone of a leading Polish brokerage platform known as OANDA TMS.
The majority of websites that have been included in the latest warning list by the CySEC are not active. However, some of these websites have remained operational. Some also contain a message encouraging retail investors to open their accounts with the platform. These sites have made false claims of being regulated.
Some of the website addresses that have been included in the warning list include afexeu.com, forextimeltd.com, ico-assets.com, jfdtrade.net, ltdexxovo.com, primusforex.net, protechfx.com, and tfimarkets24.com. One of the crucial addresses is primusforex.net.
The website of primusforex.net looks similar to the domain used for OANDA TMS. The latter is a brokerage company based in Poland that provides access to a wide range of financial services that target retail traders.
The official statement by the regulator said, “The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) wishes to inform investors that the following websites do not belong to an entity which has been granted authorization for the provision of investment services and/or the performance of investment activities.
The website being used by the scammers is a copy of the regulated entity, but they have used a logo to trick users into believing that these sites are authentic. A scroll through the domain of the unlicensed brokerage platform and OANDA TMS shows that Primus Forex is just a clone company.
A clone usually relies upon the website of another firm that is popular across the industry. The goal of the attackers is to mislead retail investors. It also encourages these investors to create their accounts with the platform.
Clone websites and platforms have increased
During the second half of May, the regulator warned against the growing risk of impersonation of representatives and regulatory officers. The regulator has also integrated an additional eight operating FX and CFD platforms into the warning list.
The previous warnings by the regulator mentioned financista.com, ocdfinances.net, ocdfinances.org, swiftpuprime.com, and world-trade-center.io. It further warned about inverbid.co and inverbid.com.
In April, the CySEC expanded its warning list with Berkshire Hathaway TX. This fraudulent platform is the same as the company that is owned by the American billionaire investor known as Warren Buffet.
The UK financial market regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), warned against the clone of the social and copy trading platform eToro. The Cypriot regulator further warned about a clone of OANDA TMS. However, in the case of eToro, the scammer used the license number of the company.
