British investors have been warned not to take out any financial services with FX Merchants after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Tuesday said the company had faked its authorization.
FX Merchants is targeting UK investors by offering a full range of trading services, including Cryptocurrencies , but the City watchdog has said the registration number on its website is a fake and the firm is not authorized to do business in the UK.
The FCA has recently issued multiple warnings to investors advising them not to use the services of several clone/unregulated investment firms. Also, as we reported yesterday, the regulator is considering a ban on retail derivatives of cryptocurrencies, including CFDs, futures and options, as part of the UK authorities’ efforts to bring the virtual asset under its oversight.
As per usual, this seems like yet another instance of a scam operation where an unlicensed company illegally assumes the identity of an authorized company so that traders will mistake it for the legitimate entity.
The FCA warnings included contact details for FX Merchants, which operates through https://fxmerchants.com, and stressed that almost all companies who offer, promote or sell financial services or products in the UK have to be authorized by the regulator.
The FCA encourages traders or those considering online trading to exercise caution, strongly advising against funding an account or investing via this specific company. Anyone who chooses to sign up with the impostor should bear in mind that they will not receive the financial authorities’ assistance should things go awry.
Tuesday's announcement is the latest in the FCA’s series of warnings about unregulated firms posing as legitimate, approved businesses to con UK consumers into making Payments for investment services.
