Lesson 4 of 7 · 8 min
Clone brokers and fake apps
How scammers copy a real broker's name, licence number and app, and how to catch a clone by comparing the web address, phone and payee with the register entry.
By the end you'll be able to
- Explain why a matching licence number does not prove you are dealing with the real firm
- Read a web address and tell the real domain from a look-alike
- Check an app, a "local representative" and a payee against the register entry
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The website has the right logo, the right licence number and a live chat that answers in seconds. The regulator’s register confirms the number exists. You may still be talking to someone else entirely.
How a clone is built
Stage 1 of 6
A real, licensed firm
A regulated broker appears on its regulator’s register with its legal name, reference number, website, phone and address.
The check that stops it: This entry is your reference. Reach it by typing the regulator’s address yourself.
Stage 2 of 6
The copy
Scammers copy the name, logo, licence number and even the office address. A search for the name or number finds the real firm, so the clone seems to pass.
The check that stops it: A matching name and number prove only that the real firm exists.
Stage 3 of 6
A look-alike address
The clone’s site sits on a slightly different domain: an extra word, a different ending, one swapped letter.
The check that stops it: Compare the address bar with the website on the register, letter by letter.
Stage 4 of 6
The approach
Adverts, direct messages, or a “local office” or “official representative” that speaks your language and takes deposits locally.
The check that stops it: Contact the firm with the phone or email on the register and ask whether the site and the representative are theirs.
Stage 5 of 6
An app from a link
You get a link to install the “official app” outside the app store, or a store app published by a different company.
The check that stops it: Install only from the official store, and check that the developer name matches the licensed company.
Stage 6 of 6
Money to the wrong payee
Deposits go to a personal card, a crypto wallet or a company with another name.
The check that stops it: The payee must be the licensed company itself. Any other name ends the check.
How a clone is built and where each check catches it. Tap a stage.
A clone firm is a scam that pretends to be a real, authorised company by copying its details: name, logo, licence number, sometimes its address and staff names. A search of the register for the name or number finds the real firm, so a quick check seems to pass. Regulators publish warnings about clones they find; the FCA’s Warning List marks them as clones of a named authorised firm.
A version aimed at people outside the big markets is the fake “local office” or “official representative” of a well-known foreign broker, speaking your language and taking deposits in your currency. Ask the broker itself, using the phone or email on the register entry, whether it has any representative in your country.
Fake apps and familiar platforms
A familiar platform such as MetaTrader 5 proves nothing: any company can rent a platform server and put its own name on it. The server name you log in to tells you which company runs the account. Apps get the same treatment. Install only from the official app store, and check that the publisher is the licensed company, not a similar name. A file sent by link, or a “web app” saved to your home screen from a message, can show any balance it likes.
Our broker profiles list each broker’s official domains where we have checked them, and look-alike domains we know about.
Try it
Register entry (you typed the regulator’s address yourself)
- Firm name
- Firm A Markets Ltd
- Reference number
- 123456
- Website
- www.firm-a.co.uk
- Phone
- +44 20 7946 0000
- Status
- Authorised
Tap every line you think is a warning sign.
Warning signs found: 0 of 5
A made-up example. Names, numbers and web addresses are fictional; patterns like these are common in real scams.
Hold each line up against the green register entry. Anything the register lists should match exactly, and anything it does not list (a mobile number, an app file, a different payee) does not belong to the real firm.
Quick check
Quick check
Question 1 of 4
A site shows a licence number that the register confirms belongs to a real broker. The site's address differs from the register's. This is:
Question 2 of 4
What is the real domain in https://firm-a.co.uk.secure-client.com/login?
Question 3 of 4
Someone says they are the official office of a well-known foreign broker in your country and asks for deposits in local currency. You should:
Question 4 of 4
The app is MetaTrader 5, which you know is genuine software. Does that make the broker genuine?
Go deeper: Forex broker scams: 9 red flags and how to check a licence · Forex broker regulation: FCA, ASIC, CySEC, NFA and offshore · How to check a broker before you deposit