Italy’s financial markets regulator, Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB), has taken action against the first batch of companies for running digital advertisements promoting "abusive financial services."
This came after the agency partnered with Google recently to takedown illegal ads within jurisdictions.
Ads Featuring Giorgia Meloni
The regulator blacklisted and blocked access to two websites that fraudulently promoted unauthorised services by using the images of prominent public figures, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella, along with the branding of major companies. These advertisements directed Italians to other unauthorised financial services platforms.
Although the Italian regulator has actively targeted unauthorised financial services platforms operating within its jurisdiction, it has now started to crack down on illegal advertisements for the first time.
Similar to its actions against unauthorised brokerages, CONSOB also blocked access to the two advertisement websites at the domain level.
“The intervention is the first case of application of the new powers given to CONSOB by the ‘Capital Law,’ under which the Financial Markets Regulatory and Supervisory Authority can order telecommunications service operators to block sites that run advertising campaigns related to abusive financial services, i.e., without authorisation,” the regulator stated.
Continuing the Fight Against Scams
The Italian watchdog also took down four other unauthorised websites that were offering risky contracts for differences (CFDs) to retail clients. At least one of these websites even falsely claimed to be regulated by CONSOB.
Since July 2019, when legislation granted CONSOB the authority to crack down on fraudulent platforms, the regulator has blocked access to 1,194 potentially fraudulent websites. However, tackling such scams remains challenging, as victims often need to come forward to report them.
Other regulators, including those in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, and Spain, are also actively flagging potentially fraudulent websites offering financial services. However, none of them has the authority to block access to these sites.
Interestingly, their Australian counterpart, ASIC, has gone a step further, partnering with a tech firm to block over 7,300 phishing and investment scam websites since mid-2023.
