The UK’s    Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)  Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the largest financial regulator for all financial markets in the United Kingdom (UK).The UK regulator is responsible for the conduct of firms authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Moreover, the FCA is also responsible for the regulation of behavior in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets, and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA. Its role includes protecting consumers, keeping the industry stable, and promoting healthy competition between financial service providers. The FCA publishes and updates a guide handbook that sets out the rules, guidance, and provisions made by the FCA under its powers. The FCA has supervisory authorities overall financial services firms conducting regulated activities, such as offering loans, car financing deals, any consumer credit. Investment firms carrying on certain activities concerning financial instruments such as shares and bonds, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) requires you to be authorized. Businesses are providing pre-paid cards or other such financial services, money transfers, E-money, and credit cards. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ExplainedThe Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for all financial activities conducted in the UK or by UK citizens. Parliament gave the FCA a single strategic objective – to ensure that relevant markets function well – and three operational goals to advance, i.e. protecting consumers, integrity, and promoting competition.The FCA has been instrumental in policing the forex industry, including curbing market abuse in the form of scams, schemes, clones, etc. Recent years has seen the authority take a harder stance on investment products, including forex, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and binary options. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the largest financial regulator for all financial markets in the United Kingdom (UK).The UK regulator is responsible for the conduct of firms authorized under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Moreover, the FCA is also responsible for the regulation of behavior in retail and wholesale financial markets, supervision of the trading infrastructure that supports those markets, and the prudential regulation of firms not regulated by the PRA. Its role includes protecting consumers, keeping the industry stable, and promoting healthy competition between financial service providers. The FCA publishes and updates a guide handbook that sets out the rules, guidance, and provisions made by the FCA under its powers. The FCA has supervisory authorities overall financial services firms conducting regulated activities, such as offering loans, car financing deals, any consumer credit. Investment firms carrying on certain activities concerning financial instruments such as shares and bonds, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) requires you to be authorized. Businesses are providing pre-paid cards or other such financial services, money transfers, E-money, and credit cards. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ExplainedThe Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for all financial activities conducted in the UK or by UK citizens. Parliament gave the FCA a single strategic objective – to ensure that relevant markets function well – and three operational goals to advance, i.e. protecting consumers, integrity, and promoting competition.The FCA has been instrumental in policing the forex industry, including curbing market abuse in the form of scams, schemes, clones, etc. Recent years has seen the authority take a harder stance on investment products, including forex, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and binary options. Read this Term) today unmasked another    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 greater transparency, registers, and authorization, fraudsters have resorted to clone attempts to try to dupe investors.Fraudsters are constantly looking for new ways to scam consumers, but one technique that has been increasingly reported to regulators has been clones.This is a particular issue in the United Kingdom, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) taking measures to crack down on clone firms.These scammers typically cold-call investors to promote shares, property or other investment opportunities that are non-tradable, worthless, overpriced, or even non-existent.How Do Clone Scams Work?In most jurisdictions, firms need to be authorized to sell, promote, or advise on the sale of shares and other investments.Some fraudsters simply claim to represent these authorized firms, or even try to change firms’ contact details on registers to look authentic.The scammers will then give their own phone number, address, and website details to possible victims.Most commonly, scammers claim to be from overseas firms that appear on the registers as these firms do not always have their full contact and website details listed.These entities may even copy the website of an authorized firm, making small tweaks or changes such as to the phone number listed. 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 greater transparency, registers, and authorization, fraudsters have resorted to clone attempts to try to dupe investors.Fraudsters are constantly looking for new ways to scam consumers, but one technique that has been increasingly reported to regulators has been clones.This is a particular issue in the United Kingdom, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) taking measures to crack down on clone firms.These scammers typically cold-call investors to promote shares, property or other investment opportunities that are non-tradable, worthless, overpriced, or even non-existent.How Do Clone Scams Work?In most jurisdictions, firms need to be authorized to sell, promote, or advise on the sale of shares and other investments.Some fraudsters simply claim to represent these authorized firms, or even try to change firms’ contact details on registers to look authentic.The scammers will then give their own phone number, address, and website details to possible victims.Most commonly, scammers claim to be from overseas firms that appear on the registers as these firms do not always have their full contact and website details listed.These entities may even copy the website of an authorized firm, making small tweaks or changes such as to the phone number listed. Read this Term entity, Mirabaud Group, which was added to its warning list of unregulated entities, according to an FCA statement.

Mirabaud Group is operating from the site www.mirabaud.com, and lists its address at 33 Grosvenor Place, London, SW1X 7HY. However, FCA said the cloned firm is using the details of an authorised firm operating under the names Mirabaud Asset Management Limited (FRN 122140) and Mirabaud Securities LLP (FRN 489643), part of the Mirabaud Group.

Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorised by the FCA.

Mirabaud Group is a common type of fraud known as ‘cloned firms’, which usurp the identity of an existing authorized entity in order to give the appearance of trustworthiness or legitimacy and thereby convince investors of their legitimacy.

A visit to the Mirabaud’s website reveals its attempt to mislead investors that it is offering a legal product and is governed by the FCA.

The original company is a well-established entity that has been serving its clients for several years and it has a presence in Geneva, Zurich, Basel, London, Luxembourg, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Milan, Montreal, Dubai and Hong Kong. It offers a comprehensive set of financial services covering three areas of expertise: wealth and asset management, brokerage and corporate finance.

The FCA helps keep investors informed by drawing attention to suspicious operations and unregulated entities that market participants should abstain from doing business with.

The alert list contains entities which have come to the attention of the FCA because they are unlicensed in the UK and are believed to have been targeting domestic investors or claim to have an association with regulated firms.