The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has issued a warning against a clone of retail FX and CFD broker Pepperstone.

BaFin warns consumers against offers made via the website pepperstone.life. According to information available to BaFin, financial and investment services are being provided on this website without the required authorisation.

BaFin expressly points out that the licensed securities institution Pepperstone GmbH contrary to the information in the imprint does not operate the website. This is a case of identity theft.

Clones are unauthorised entities that abuse the data (name, address, logo, etc) of authorised firms. They do so, in order to lure potential victims more easily. Clones have nothing to do with the authorised firms.

Anyone providing financial or investment services in Germany may do so only with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the necessary authorisation.

BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that consumers seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud attempts at an early stage.