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

Specifically, the Commission has ordered the closure of eight websites that were illegally providing investment services and activities on financial instruments, as well as one website that advertised unauthorized trading platforms by improperly using the names and images of institutional figures known to the Italian public.

The following is a list of the websites that have been blacked out:

• “GLQ-Investors” (website https://glq-investors.com);
• “Swiss-Pay” (website https://swiss-pay.io and related page https://client.swiss-pay.io);
• “Stone Vest” (website https://stone-vest-ltd.com and related page https://inv.stone-vest.com);
• “Apollo” (sites https://apolloxpro.com and https://apollox-pro.vip);
• “FTI Finance” (site https://ftifinancelimited.com and related page https://client.ftifinancelimited.com);
• “Renditix AI” – “Renditixpro.space” (websites https://renditix-ai.net and https://rrenditixai.it as well as the related advertising website https://renditixpro.space).

This brings the total number of sites 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 1,608. Of these, 136 concern crypto-related activities.

Furthermore, Consob has asked the Meta platform to deactivate the social media profile https://www.facebook.com/people/Rapporto-Italia/61588197126954, used to disseminate the abusive promotional initiative relating to the “Renditix AI” platform, also advertised on the website https://renditixpro.space.

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

Internet service providers operating in Italy are currently blocking the websites. For technical reasons, the effective blocking may take several days.

Consob notes the evolution of deceptive practices that exploit the Internet to steal users’ money and personal data. The use of new tools, such as “cloned” emails and websites, counterfeit profiles of political figures, celebrities, and content generated by artificial intelligence systems—such as images, voices, or videos—has increased, with the aim of inducing savers to make harmful investment decisions.