March 1, 2021 | AtoZ Markets – Forex broker OctaFX sounded the alarm when it discovered several fraudulent schemes imitating its brand and trying to defraud clients' money. Broker OctaFX has noted an increase in online fraud as attackers seek to take advantage of the confusion and social confusion caused by the covid-19 pandemic.
OctaFX clone website warning
“If someone stumbles upon these impostors on the Internet, be extremely careful, as you may be persuaded to invest your money in fraudulent schemes and you will never see your funds again,” said the CySEC-regulated company.
Imposture is a common type of scam where an unlicensed company masquerades as a legitimate and authorized company, thus misleading users.
The retail trading platform explains that fraudulent crime groups can interact with victims through a number of channels, including social media and search engine advertising. The most sophisticated criminals not only use slightly modified logos and company names, but even clone the domain name of the real OctaFX website.
“Never exclude the possibility that fraudsters can use a variant of our logo,” the company stressed.
Britons lost 78 million pounds to clone firms in 2020
Earlier this month, Malaysia's financial regulator said the fraudulent platform was impersonating OctaFX. Although the firm is strictly regulated in Europe, such permits do not give it the right to promote its products in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, the broker stressed that in the fight against fraudsters, one cannot rely only on regulators. Thus, the financial industry as a whole is designed to expose copycat sites and prevent investors from becoming their victims.
Most regulators publish fraud and clone company alerts on their websites, with the number of relevant alerts issued by the FCA surpassing 1,100 in 2020.
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