An increasing number of scammers are being exposed by regulators worldwide for the identify theft of legal corporations or targeting clients in markets where they are not authorized or licensed to.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently reported that it had discovered two more such clone firms. City Equities Ltd, which on its site (www.cityeq.com) claims to have over 25 years’ experience and a license from 15 regulatory bodies, is in fact a “Boiler Room” scam, ripping off the name of City Equities Limited with which it has no association.

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The second “Boiler Room” clone scam recently reported by the FCA goes by the names of, Fredric & Formby, Fredric and Formby and Fredericks Ltd. The fraudsters behind this scheme did not even bother to create a website, and targeted their victims via phone calls and an email address (enquiries@fredricformby.co.uk). The scammers involved stole the identity of Miss Charlotte Louise West of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Meanwhile, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has recently reported two uauthorized institutions claiming to be Zürich-based. The first is Tradmaker, an MT4 and SIRIX platform broker offering CFDs, Forex and Bitcoin trading. The second warning was against iStock Capital, which FINMA claims does not exist at the given address. FINMA has added the two firms to its “negative list” of financial companies.