The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has added a new contender to its warning list this Wednesday, with the regulator flagging Advisory Broker Services, as a Clone of a European Economic Area (EEA) authorized firm.
According to the British regulator, the blacklisted entity goes by the following names - Advisory Broker Services / Advisory Broker Trading / AB Services.
“Fraudsters are using the details of firms we authorise to try to convince people that they work for a genuine, authorised firm,” the statement from the authority said. “Almost all firms and individuals carrying out financial services activities in the UK have to be authorised or registered by us. This firm is not authorised or registered by us but has been targeting people in the UK, claiming to be an authorised firm.”
As the name suggests, clone firms are fraudulent entities that 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.
According to the FCA, the clone firm is operating using the following details:
Address: 32 Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8AY
Telephone: 0203 318 0867, 0203 808 9178, 0203 868 9279
Email: admin@advisorybrokerservices.com, admin@advisorybrokertrading.net, michael@advisorybrokerservices.com, michaelspence@advisorybrokertrading.net
Website: www.advisorybrokerservices.com, www.advisorybrokertrading.net
FCA: scammers may update information
“Be aware that scammers may give out other false details or mix these with some correct details of the registered firm. They may change contact details over time to new email addresses, telephone numbers or physical addresses,” the regulator warned.
On the entity’s website (www.advisorybrokertrading.net), the entity claims to be specialist fixed income advisors and brokers, with “over two decades experience within the global fixed income bond markets.”
The details of the legitimate, regulated firm are as follows:
Firm Name: Advisors and Brokers Service, a.s.
Firm Reference Number: 842199
Address: Na Podkovce 282/12, Podoli 147 00, Praha 4, Czech Republic
