The United Kingdom’s financial markets watchdog today warned that it believes a Scotland-based company under the name MPG Partners, trading as HBC Broker, has been providing financial services or products to UK residents without regulatory permission.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned that this FX brokerage may potentially be a scam since it has been operating without a license and targeting UK citizens.
The FCA pointed out that the company’s address is Vincent Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. HBC Broker also maintains a presence in other jurisdictions and solicits clients using its website www.hbcbroker.com.
A brief review of the firm’s website reveals that it offers a wide range of trading instruments involving currency pairs, commodities and indices.
Besides clarifying that the firm in question lacks the proper authorisation to be targeting British customers, the FCA also said in its official statement that it strongly advises investors to only deal with financial firms that are authorised, and check the Financial Services Register to ensure they are.
Earlier this month, the industry watchdog , the latest in a series of warnings about clone firms posing as legitimate approved businesses in their attempts to con UK consumers into making payments for investment services.
In response to this wave of fraud, the FCA said that fraudulent clone companies were on the rise, and last month’s list demonstrates that this shows no signs of abating.
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