The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today shed light on a clone firm representing itself as Primus Forex Financial Group, which is a regulated brokerage company that provides professional investment services in the financial markets.

The clone has no association whatsoever with Primus Capital Markets UK Limited (PCM UK) and is thus involved in fraudulent activity, the watchdog said.‎ The clone company also claims to be licensed by the FCA, using the authorized firm’s FRN and registered address.

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As per the press release issued by FCA, the clone firm chose PCM UK because it has been authorized to operate within the UK.

The copycat company operates through http://www.primusasia.com and has adopted the address of the original company – 3rd Floor, 9 Devonshire Square London EC2M 4YD, UNITED KINGDOM. The FCA warns that this is a typical move for a scam company to gain the trust of unsuspecting clients.

The original firm has been conducting business for several years now and can be found at https://primuscapital.uk. Founded in 2008, the genuine firm is an established broker that offers regulated trading activities in CFDs, FX, Commodities, Energies, and Indices.

Today’s announcement is the latest in the FCA’s series of warnings about clone firms posing as legitimate, approved businesses to con UK consumers into making payments for investment services.

If you are an investor, you should be aware that the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme are not available if you deal with an unauthorized company or individual, the FCA said in a statement.