Italy’s Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) today announced the blocking of access to 11 unauthorized investment websites.

The following websites have been blocked:

• “Aurum-Fix” (website https://ltd-aurum.com and related page https://inv.aurum-fix-corp.com);
• “CloudTrading” (website https://cloudtrading.co and related page https://my.cloudtrading.co);
• “Topmarketssolutions.com” (website https://topmarketssolutions.com and related page https://client.topmarketssolutions.com);
• The Wealth Company International Fzco (website www.tradetector.com);
• Exclusive Markets Ltd (website www.exclusivemarkets.com);
• “Servelius” (website www.servelius.org and related page https://webtrader.oysteryx-ophonlie.com);
• “Fruenza” (websites https://fruenza.net and https://fruenza.info);
• “Pura Monetivo” (websites https://puramonetivo.com, https://pura-monetivo.com, and https://puramonetivo.net).

This brings the total number of websites blocked by Consob since July 2019, when the Authority was granted the power to order the blocking of the websites of unauthorized financial intermediaries, to 1,599. Of these, 136 concern crypto-related activities.

The Authority has exercised the powers granted by the “Growth Decree” to block the websites of unauthorized financial intermediaries.

Consob notes the evolution of deceptive practices that exploit the Internet to steal users’ money and personal data: there has been an increase in the use of new tools, such as “cloned” emails and websites, fake profiles of political figures, celebrities, and AI-generated content – such as images, voices, or videos – with the aim of inducing savers to make harmful investment decisions.