It appears that there is a clone firm on the loose scamming investors who have been tricked into believing that they are, in fact, investing with Forex Financial Services, a statement from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) suggests.
According to the statement which was published this Friday, the agency has received a high volume of complaints from consumers in regards to services allegedly provided by the forex firm.
Specifically, the complaints state that consumers have been unable to withdraw funds via the Online Trading website. However, Forex Financial Services has responded, stating that a clone firm has fraudulently copied its company name and Australian license details and is accepting customers money through its online trading website.
AFCA refers case to ASIC
The firm denies providing any financial service to the complainants. Because of this, AFCA as referred the matter to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), given the allegations that a clone firm is responsible for the stolen funds.
As the name suggests, clone firms are fraudulent entities which copy details of a legitimate firm, such as their name, website, address, registration details, etc. Some even go to the lengths of completely copying a firm – from their website, to brand, in order to trick investors into thinking that they are the actual legitimate firm.
AFCA can only consider complaints made against members of the AFCA. While Forex Financial Services is currently an AFCA member, it is currently unclear who is actually at fault.
“AFCA is currently unable to consider these complaints against Forex Financial Services while ASIC is reviewing this matter. AFCA encourages any customer with a concern about accessing their trading funds through Forex Financial Services to delay lodging a complaint until ASIC has completed its review,” the statement said.
Clone firms are a big problem in the foreign exchange (forex) and cryptocurrency sectors. As Finance Magnates has reported, Tickmill, Dukascopy Bank and broker-dealer ICAP, among others, have all been targeted by clone firms.
