The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has issued a warning about 14 websites operating without proper authorization to provide investment services or activities under Cyprus law.

The regulatory body identified several unauthorized platforms, including a clone website impersonating the popular broker Admirals (formerly known as Admiral Markets).

CySEC Warns Investors About Unauthorized Investment Websites

The regulator emphasized that all entities providing investment services in Cyprus must be authorized under Article 5 of Law 87(I)/2017, which implements European Union financial regulations.

The entities listed below did not meet this requirement; therefore, using their services may be potentially unsafe:

• athloscapitalinvest.com
• fxfuturetrade.net
• dts-trade.com
• fax.trade
• circlemarketfx.com
• admiralmarket.net
• kulanient.com
• eliteglobalfx.com
• elitefxgo.com
• mavqeris.com
• fasatgh.com
• gosuncm.com
• lyreasf.com
• yondaris.pro

You may also like: FMA Identifies Almost 100 Fraudulent Trading Platforms, Including Saxo, IG and ATFX Clones

Admiral Markets Clone

On of the fraudulent site, admiralmarket.net, appears to be using the legitimate Admiral’s logo, website layout, and visual branding to mislead retail investors.

Screenshot of the admiarlmarket.net cloned website

“CySEC urges investors to consult its website (www.cysec.gov.cy), before conducting business with investment firms, in order to ascertain the entities, which are licensed to provide investment services and/or investment activities,” the regulator wrote in the warning.

Clone firms, which mimic legitimate financial services companies, have become increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to deceive potential victims. Interestingly, Admirals is one of the brokers most frequently targeted by this type of fraud.

The practice of creating lookalike websites with similar domain names, branding elements, and visual identity has proven effective in tricking unsuspecting investors who fail to verify the regulatory status of platforms before depositing funds.

Also this month, CySEC decided to revoke the investment license of Viverno Markets, the B2B unit of BDSwiss.