Tickmill, FINSA Europe are Latest Targets for Clone FX Scammers

London-based CFD trading operator FINSA Europe Ltd, which operates under the trading names Financial Spreads and Financial Spreads Plus, has become the latest FCA-regulated firm to be the target of so-called clone FX scammers.

The City watchdog said in a warning notice on its website that a fraudulent brokerage website called hksvf was impersonating the regulated UK firm to lure and possibly scam investors.

FINSA Europe holds trading licenses in the UK and Australia, and its core business includes Forex Forex Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Foreign exchange or forex is the act of converting one nation’s currency into another nation’s currency (that possesses a different currency); for example, the converting of British Pounds into US Dollars, and vice versa. The exchange of currencies can be done over a physical counter, such as at a Bureau de Change, or over the internet via broker platforms, where currency speculation takes place, known as forex trading.The foreign exchange market, by its very nature, is the world’s largest tradi Read this Term, CFDs and spread betting.

The regulator notes that a fake email address is being used by the FINSA copycat, as well as its reference number 525164, but scammers also combine these with genuine details from the registered firm as part of their fraud.

The FCA tells consumers that “fraudsters usually use this tactic when contacting people out of the blue, so you should be especially wary if you have been cold called.”

FCA has various powers to act

Furthermore, hksvf claims to be regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC CySEC The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) is a financial regulatory authority of Cyprus. CySEC is one of the key watchdog authorities for brokerages in Europe, whose financial regulations and operations comply with the European MiFID financial harmonization law.Founded in 2001, CySEC is instrumental in providing licensing and registration for forex brokers and previously binary options providers.CySEC is responsible for a variety of different functions, which includes the supervision Read this Term). It also pretends to be affiliated with ECN retail brokerage Tickmill. However, the clone has no association whatsoever with the two regulated firms and is thus involved in fraudulent activity, while its representatives are contacting people only to trick them out of money.

In addition to investment and trading brokers, the UK financial watchdog has recently turned eyes to research providers, taking the opportunity to remind firms of its various powers to act if a financial service or related activities did not conform with the regulator’s rules.

Earlier in January, the Financial Conduct Authority has also highlighted its concerns over financial promotions that falsely implied that all of a firm’s activities were regulated by the FCA or other regulators, when in fact they were not. These promotions can include all forms of communication by firms, including through advertising, websites, and social media.