Consob has blocked five websites suspected of offering illegal financial services to investors. These websites include FCapital24 (fcapital24.com), Future Invest Limited (future-invest-limited.com or cfd.future-invest-limited.com), and LevictousLTD.com (levictousltd.com).

Consob Cracks Down on Trading Platforms

The Italian financial regulator restricted Trading42 Ltd or Trading42 Financial Llc (trading42.com), and RussellGroupFX (russellgroupfx.com) for unlawfully offering financial services. Consob aims to protect investors from fraudulent activities by ordering the blackout of these financial services platforms. Since July 2019, Consob has been empowered to block websites associated with abusive financial intermediaries.

With the recent addition, the total number of blocked sites now stands at 1,070. The watchdog has urged savers to be cautious and conduct due diligence when making investment decisions. This ensures that they verify the authorization of the operator and the publication of financial product prospectuses.

More Websites Blocked

Additionally, Consob emphasized the importance of investor awareness and education in combating financial scams. The authority has directed individuals to its website for information and resources on identifying and avoiding fraudulent financial initiatives.

Last month, Consob blocked five websites suspected of offering illegal financial services. These platforms include Imperialcap24 Limited, Top Markets Ltd, AfexEU, Bitblanco, INVESTRIUM, and FameFX24. These websites were reportedly operating without proper authorization to offer financial services.

Financial regulators worldwide have been intensifying efforts to combat financial fraud. Authorities like Canada's Securities Administrators and Belgium's Financial Services and Markets Authority have cautioned users against suspicious online trading platforms. Similarly, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority issued over 2,000 warnings last year to combat financial scams.

Consob additionally warned against clone brokers using the credentials of legitimate brokers to deceive clients. The authority highlighted deceptive tactics used by clone websites, which adopt names similar to licensed entities but lack legitimate authorization.