With the
holiday season approaching, scammers are relentlessly trying to deceive
unsuspecting retail investors. The UK’s financial market watchdog has warned about a clone of the popular investment firm Spreadex.
According
to a warning published today (Friday) by the FCA, a firm operating under the
website sspreadex.com is impersonating Spreadex, a regulated spread-betting
service provider in the UK.
Users who
accidentally type an extra “s” in the broker’s website address
(sspreadex.com instead of spreadex.com) are redirected to a fraudulent clone
site attempting to steal data by masquerading as the popular platform, which
netted £28.2 million in profit during the fiscal year 2023.
The FCA
also warns against emails sent from the spreeadex@spreeadex.com mailbox, which
closely resembles the original broker’s but also contains typos.
“Scammers
may give out other false details, including email addresses, telephone numbers,
postal addresses, and Firm Reference Numbers,” the FCA commented in the
warning. “They may mix these details with the genuine details of
authorized firms. They may also change their contact details over time.”
The tactic of creating clone firms is, unfortunately, very common. In November, the FCA
warned against clones of popular platforms like the social trading platform
eToro, and scammers impersonating the publicly traded IG Group. In the same
month, fraudsters used the names and trademarks of Santander and Saxo Bank.
How Does a Clone Firm Work
and Why Is It Dangerous
The
strategy of clone firms is to make unrealistic investment promises to attract
potential investors. They target people searching for online investment
opportunities. These clone firm websites lure visitors to enter their contact
details through forms, which are then used to offer scam investment
opportunities.
Initially,
these clone firms may even provide some returns to investors to appear
legitimate. However, they stop the payouts once larger investments are made by
their victims. Without regulation , investors have no protection against such
scams and suffer significant financial losses.
According
to the UK’s FCA, the prevalence of clone firms impersonating authorized
financial companies has increased recently. The FCA maintains a warning list
with clone firm names and issues alerts whenever new fraudulent entities are
identified. Investors can avoid these clone scams by checking for authorization
status and referring to regulator warnings.
With the
holiday season approaching, scammers are relentlessly trying to deceive
unsuspecting retail investors. The UK’s financial market watchdog has warned about a clone of the popular investment firm Spreadex.
According
to a warning published today (Friday) by the FCA, a firm operating under the
website sspreadex.com is impersonating Spreadex, a regulated spread-betting
service provider in the UK.
Users who
accidentally type an extra “s” in the broker’s website address
(sspreadex.com instead of spreadex.com) are redirected to a fraudulent clone
site attempting to steal data by masquerading as the popular platform, which
netted £28.2 million in profit during the fiscal year 2023.
The FCA
also warns against emails sent from the spreeadex@spreeadex.com mailbox, which
closely resembles the original broker’s but also contains typos.
“Scammers
may give out other false details, including email addresses, telephone numbers,
postal addresses, and Firm Reference Numbers,” the FCA commented in the
warning. “They may mix these details with the genuine details of
authorized firms. They may also change their contact details over time.”
The tactic of creating clone firms is, unfortunately, very common. In November, the FCA
warned against clones of popular platforms like the social trading platform
eToro, and scammers impersonating the publicly traded IG Group. In the same
month, fraudsters used the names and trademarks of Santander and Saxo Bank.
How Does a Clone Firm Work
and Why Is It Dangerous
The
strategy of clone firms is to make unrealistic investment promises to attract
potential investors. They target people searching for online investment
opportunities. These clone firm websites lure visitors to enter their contact
details through forms, which are then used to offer scam investment
opportunities.
Initially,
these clone firms may even provide some returns to investors to appear
legitimate. However, they stop the payouts once larger investments are made by
their victims. Without regulation , investors have no protection against such
scams and suffer significant financial losses.
According
to the UK’s FCA, the prevalence of clone firms impersonating authorized
financial companies has increased recently. The FCA maintains a warning list
with clone firm names and issues alerts whenever new fraudulent entities are
identified. Investors can avoid these clone scams by checking for authorization
status and referring to regulator warnings.
