The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA ), the UK’s financial industry regulator, has warned investors against dealing with Crypto Vault Traders, which it says is based in the United States.
The FCA in a statement published on its website on Friday stated that the platform may be providing financial services or products in the UK without its authorization.
The regulator explained, “Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorised or registered by us.
“This firm is not authorised by us and is targeting people in the UK. You will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS); so you are unlikely to get your money back if things go wrong.”
The FCA warned investors and traders to “be aware that some firms may give out other details or change their contact details over time to new email addresses, telephone numbers or physical addresses.”
The watchdog body urged investors to check its financial services register to ensure that financial firms they want to deal with are authorized or registered.
It noted that the register has information on firms and individuals that are or have been regulated by the body, adding that a firm that does not appear in the registry should be reported.
“If you used an authorised firm or registered firm, access to the Financial Ombudsman Service and FSCS protection will depend on the investment you are making, the service the firm is providing, and the permissions the firm has,” it further said.
FCA's Recent Warnings
Earlier this month, the FCA warned investors against the trading firm, Etradefxlive, which it said has not been authorized by it and could be a clone firm of the American financial services firm, E*Trade.
Additionally, the body last month warned investors against another clone firm, AZOptions, which it said was impersonating Octopus Investments Limited in order to scam unsuspecting investors in the European country.
In the same month, the watchdog raised the alarm against another firm that was cloning XTB, a broker that belongs to XTB Group and whose branch in the UK, XTB Limited, is regulated by the agency.
