The Italian regulatory authority, Consob, has taken action against four new websites offering illegal financial services and products.

List of Blacklisted Websites by Consob

The following websites have been ordered to be blacked out:

• Mango Group LLC- www.x-fortunes.com
• FX6-https://fx6.xyz
• Trade 4 Nation- www.trade4nation.com and related web portal https://client.trade4nation.com
• Velohld- www.velohld.com

This brings the total number of sites blacked out since July 2019 to 959. The blackout of these web pages is carried out by Internet service providers operating in Italy, and it may take several days for the blackout to take effect due to technical reasons.

Consob emphasizes the importance of due diligence when making investment decisions and advises investors to ensure that operators offering financial services are authorized and that prospectuses have been published for financial products. To assist investors, Consob provides a "Watch for Scams!" section on its own website www.consob.it.

Consob and Other European Regulatory Bodies

Finance Magnates reported in March that Consob had blacklisted several platforms, including ToroProfit, Plan B Ltd, EuropeanFX™ Markets Limited, CatenaFarmCapital, and EaglestonesFinance, for offering financial services without authorization. Some websites remained active while the blocking orders were in progress. Consob has been vigilant in blocking unauthorized financial intermediaries, with 855 sites blocked since July 2019.

Consob, as one of Europe's most proactive financial regulatory authorities, has been relentless in identifying and blocking suspicious, unlicensed, and fraudulent online platforms and their operators.

In this year alone, the Italian regulator has reported taking action against such rogue sites, marking its commitment to safeguarding investors. This is not a standalone effort, as other regulatory bodies across Europe are engaged in ensuring the safety of retail investors.

Additionally, the UK's FCA, for instance, has been adding entities to its warning list regularly, addressing concerns about the adequacy of controls, particularly among payment institutions and electronic money institutions.

Cyprus' CySEC and Spain's CNMV are also notable for their taken measures. CySEC oversaw the supervision of almost 840 financial institutions in 2022 and imposed fines totaling €2.9 million on those found in breach of licensing regulations. Meanwhile, CNMV recently issued warnings about four suspicious platforms.