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

The websites that have been blocked are:

• “IG Group 24” (website https://iggroup24.life and related page https://my.24igg.to);
• “Mont Blanc Investment Ltd” (website https://montblancltd.com and related page https://client.montblancltd.com);
• “Activ Markets” (website https://activmarkets.org and related page https://webtrader.ac-markets-webtraderplatform.org).

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 1,588.

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.