The Financial Conduct Authority, the financial watchdog in the UK, has issued a warning against a clone of the leading FCA-authorized broker Pepperstone. The fraudsters are using the details of the renowned trading company in order to persuade investors to deposit cash in their bank account.
The website pepperforeign.com belongs to fraudsters claiming to represent the FCA-authorized broker Pepperstone, according to the official statement: “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 authorized firm, or other details.”
“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 FCA added.
The real and FCA-regulated broker goes by the name of Pepperstone Limited and can be identified by the following details:
Firm Reference Number: 684312
Address: 70 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0HR
Telephone: +448000465473
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.pepperstone.com/
Pepperstone is an established retail FX and CFD broker headquartered in Australia and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia, and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in the UAE. It provides access to the trading of more than 180 CFD instruments, from forex to precious metals, indices, and US shares.
The UK FCA continually reports and warns against clones of authorized trading firms. Most recently, it issued a statement regarding a fraudulent clone of HYCM, the retail FX broker.
In 2019, the UK financial watchdog released a report stating losses from investment scams in 2018 amounted to £197 million, with an average loss of £29,000 per victim. According to the document, the profile of investment scams is changing as more and more people are being targeted online, moving away from the traditional cold call.
Fraudsters are now contacting people through emails, professional-looking websites, and social media channels, such as Facebook and Instagram. In 2018, 54% of those who did the right thing by checking the FCA Warning List had been contacted by potential fraudsters via online sources, up from 45% in 2017. The FCA Warning List is a tool that helps users to find out more about the risks associated with an investment, and search a list of firms the FCA knows are operating without its authorization.
