The Austrian regulator has created the Austria FMA Investor Warning system against Forex fraud last year. How effective is the new measure in protecting investors?
7 June, AtoZForex – The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of Austria has continued on the string of its investigations into the illegal activities of financial markets participants around the country. The enforcement actions of FMA into various financial scams are also keeping the industry safe. Just like this, the Austrian regulator has been taking care of the number of multiple fraudulent operations across the financial services sector.
How effective is Austria FMA Investor Warning system against Forex fraud?
The FMA has posted its annual 2016 report. The report stated that the number of legal action and investigations against the fraudulent firms has decreased in comparison to the previous year. Moreover, the regulator warned that this is coinciding with the launch of its Austria FMA Investor Warning system against Forex fraud.
The Austrian regulator has designed the Investor Warning instrument in order to inform the public about illegal operations, potential scams and unregulated service providers. The new Instrument is similar to the measures that are deployed by other regulators. The recent information is proving that the new tool by the Austrian FMA is quite effective.
How to protect yourself?
According to the FMA’s Executive Directors Helmut Ettl and Klaus Kumpfmüller, anyone who has been contacted by the unknown service provider should immediately check the reliability of the firm on the official FMA website. While visiting FMA website, investors should pay attention to the warning list of the regulator. They should check whether the firm has received an alert from the supervisor.
In case the investors see the presence of the warning about this particular firm, FMA officials advise to distance themselves from any business relationship with the provider. Afterward, the FMA executives encourage investors to contact FMA in these circumstances. Helmut Ettl and Klaus Kumpfmüller have added:
“Doing so ensures that the FMA is able to warn about dubious providers quickly. Thereb, it is able to contain damage being sustained by investors as soon as possible.”
Austria FMA Investor Warning system against Forex fraud brings results
In 2016, the FMA has witnessed a decreasing number of total investigations into the unauthorized businesses. The 2016 number of total investigations stood at 162. This is in comparison to the figure from 2015 of 218.
Moreover, the FMA has concluded around 204 investigations in 2016, relative to the 254 from 2015. In addition, warnings from suspicious providers have slid in number to 32 from 40 in 2015.
The decreasing number of enforcement actions signals the great work of Austria’s financial service regulator. The improvements made in the financial services sector are reflecting the effectiveness of the Investor Warning instrument of FMA.
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