Watchdog Warns About a Chinese Clone of an Australian Broker

by Avi Mizrahi
  • Following the warning, the clone website now appears to be down or at least inaccessible outside of China.
Watchdog Warns About a Chinese Clone of an Australian Broker
Finance Magnates
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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC ) has issued a warning to investors today about false claims being made on the website www.usgforex.com that its services are regulated by ASIC and that it is linked to the regulated Australian broker Union Standard International Group Pty Ltd (Union Standard).

Union Standard's real website domain is www.usgfx.com which the scammers probably thought people will easily accept as related to it. They even went a step further in stealing the identity of the Australian broker by claiming its licence for themselves. Again, ASIC says it understands these claims are false and Union Standard have confirmed the website is not associated with the company in any way.

ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour commented: "This case again highlights the need for investors to be vigilant and do their research before signing up to trade financial products via a website."

Checking the domain registration for www.usgforex.com it is clear to see that it is registered in and operated from China, which should not be surprising considering the large number of Clone websites coming out of the country and targeting Chinese speakers. In September, ASIC warned about a similar incident with a Chinese clone company who misled the public about their regulatory status.

Following the warning, the clone website now appears to be down or at least inaccessible outside of China.

Error message when trying to access usgforex

Error message when trying to access usgforex

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC ) has issued a warning to investors today about false claims being made on the website www.usgforex.com that its services are regulated by ASIC and that it is linked to the regulated Australian broker Union Standard International Group Pty Ltd (Union Standard).

Union Standard's real website domain is www.usgfx.com which the scammers probably thought people will easily accept as related to it. They even went a step further in stealing the identity of the Australian broker by claiming its licence for themselves. Again, ASIC says it understands these claims are false and Union Standard have confirmed the website is not associated with the company in any way.

ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour commented: "This case again highlights the need for investors to be vigilant and do their research before signing up to trade financial products via a website."

Checking the domain registration for www.usgforex.com it is clear to see that it is registered in and operated from China, which should not be surprising considering the large number of Clone websites coming out of the country and targeting Chinese speakers. In September, ASIC warned about a similar incident with a Chinese clone company who misled the public about their regulatory status.

Following the warning, the clone website now appears to be down or at least inaccessible outside of China.

Error message when trying to access usgforex

Error message when trying to access usgforex

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