It might only be Monday, but already the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released a suite of warnings against suspected financial scams, including a clone firm of a financial advisory company.
In particular, the British regulator has warned against Goldmans Banc, which it states is a clone of an FCA registered company - GMB Portfolio Services Limited, which provides financial advisory services.
"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," the regulator warned in its statement today.
"This is what we call a 'clone firm'; and fraudsters usually use this tactic when contacting people out of the blue, so you should be especially wary if you have been cold called. They may use the name of the genuine firm, the 'firm reference number' (FRN) we have given the authorised firm or other details."
Goldmans Banc claims to be an online trading provider on its website, www.goldmans.io. The entity offers numerous assets to trade, including foreign exchange (Forex ), Cryptocurrencies , commodities, indices, and more.
On its website, the entity states: "Goldman Banс was founded by Swiss financial experts. Our financial company is a leading global brand that provides services for working in the financial market."
"The constant growth and development of products entitles Goldmans Banc to be considered the leading global forex broker. A demo account is available to the company's customers so that they can evaluate the services provided."
FCA provides details on clone firm
In its warning, the UK watchdog provides the following information as belonging to the scam:
Name: Goldmans Banc (clone of FCA authorized firm)
Address: Suite 305, Griffith Corporate Centre, Beachmont, Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Email: support@goldmans.io, info@goldmans.io
Website: www.goldmans.io
In comparison, the FCA also outlines the details of the legitimate firm, in which Goldmans Banc has cloned details of:
Firm Name: GMB Portfolio Services Limited
Firm Reference Number: 738159
Address: Unit 14, Grampian Court, Beveridge Square, Livingston, West Lothian, EH54 6QF
Telephone: 0131 271 5904
Email: brian@gmbps.co.uk
Website: www.gmbportfolio.co.uk
"Be aware that scammers may give out other false details or change their contact details over time to new email addresses, telephone numbers or physical addresses," the FCA cautioned.
