The Financial Commission, an industry-specific dispute resolution service that caters to the financial services industry, today announced that it believes a clone website has been impersonating its membership roster.
FinaCom states in its announcement that the suspicious website, which operates through the URL https://thefinancialcommission.io/, lists false membership details and links to two brokers that were dismissed from its register as a result of breaches of their contractual obligations.
Besides clarifying that GANNMarkets and Lotas Capital lack the proper authorisation to advertise its engagement with commission, FinaCom also said that it strongly advises investors to only deal with financial firms that are authorised, and to check its register to ensure that they are.
The Financial Commission also warned that the shady website tries to usurp the identity of the FinaCom itself in order to give the appearance of trustworthiness and legitimacy.
The commission said that the copycat website impersonates the organization in many areas and context. In addition, it lists a few names of FinaCom’s brokerage members, many of whom have contacted the agency to inquire about its legitimacy.
As such, the self regulator is working with the domain registrar to have the websites removed and warned users to avoid the clone pages as they could be used in phishing campaigns. Additionally, it filed a claim to take over the all-too-similar domain address to ensure that traders are accessing its official materials.
“Recently, The Financial Commission came in possession of information indicating that the aforementioned clone website copied information and membership details from official The Financial Commission’s website purporting to offer fictitious services in what appears to be an attempt to deceive traders by falsely claiming the status of several Forex brokers, including GANNMarkets and Lotas Capital, as active members in The Financial Commission,” the statement further reads.
Lotas Capital lost its membership status in December 2021 as the company failed to adhere to the rules all members agree to comply with, which are part of the many prerequisites for initial membership approval and to maintain good standing. GANN Markets was also expelled from the Financial Commission effective April 29, 2022. The move was taken due to failure to adhere to membership rules and after it was given numerous opportunities to rectify its shortfalls.
The Financial Commission also plans to take further actions against GANNMArkets and Lotas Capital, including reporting to law-enforcement authorities in order to protect unsuspecting investors and prevent future fraudulent activities.
There have been many fake scam websites luring in victims by claiming the registration details of authorized providers. However, this practice has been mostly in connection with unregulated firms attempting to exploit the genuine company’s reputation. The illegal use of the name and logo of a regulator to gain referral commissions is a whole new level of entrepreneurial criminal audacity.
