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.

One "S" Too Many: FCA Warns against Spreadex Clone

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 Clone A clone refers to a fraudulent attempt by an entity or individual to use the details of an authorized firm in a bid to convince people that they work that firm.This refers to a relatively new tactic that has seen fraudsters using the name, ‘firm registration number’, and address of firms and individuals authorized by regulators to suggest they are genuine. Clones are seemingly primitive techniques, though newly adopted by scammers that have evolved in the information era. As regulators push for A clone refers to a fraudulent attempt by an entity or individual to use the details of an authorized firm in a bid to convince people that they work that firm.This refers to a relatively new tactic that has seen fraudsters using the name, ‘firm registration number’, and address of firms and individuals authorized by regulators to suggest they are genuine. Clones are seemingly primitive techniques, though newly adopted by scammers that have evolved in the information era. As regulators push for Read this Term 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 Regulation Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Like any other industry with a high net worth, the financial services industry is tightly regulated to help curb illicit behavior and manipulation. Each asset class has its own set of protocols put in place to combat their respective forms of abuse.In the foreign exchange space, regulation is assumed by authorities in multiple jurisdictions, though ultimately lacking a binding international order. Who are the Industry’s Leading Regulators?Regulators such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority ( Read this Term, 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.