Canadian Securities Administrators Warns of Crypto Websites Using Fake Regulatory Information

Canadian securities regulator CSA warned Canadian investors against cryptocurrency websites that use fake regulatory information in an announcement issued Tuesday.

According to the announcement, these sites claim to be providers of cryptocurrency trading services. To appear legitimate, they claim to be licensed by regulators or that they are members of dispute resolution organizations. In reality, however, these so-called regulators and organizations are "fictitious".

One of the sites reportedly used fictitious licensing information to advertise itself as "a reliable and trustable online trading platform." Other sites included links to alleged regulatory bodies or dispute resolution organizations.

Some of the fake regulatory or organizations that appear on these sites include:

Financial Standard Commission FSC Canada

Financial Commission/Finacom PLC Ltd.

Blockchain Association

European Financial Services and Exchange Commission

Crypto Conduct Authority/Crypto Frugal Ltd. (Ireland)

Crypto Conduct Authority/Crypto Frugal Ltd. (U.K.)

International Regulatory & Brokerage E-markets

British Investment Commission/BIC PLC Ltd.

International Financial Market Supervisory Authority

Crypto Commission Authority/Crypto Commission Ltd.

CSA said that the above organizations are not regulatory bodies or dispute resolution organizations, so any entity claiming to be approved or regulated by these organizations is likely to be fraudulent.

The Administrators also cautioned that investors should try to independently verify the authenticity of regulatory information when considering any crypto firm that claims to be regulated, rather than relying solely on the website provided by the company.

If you would like to verify the regulatory information of a financial company or have questions about a broker, you can also ask at BrokersView.