Asset Publisher

Financial abusive services - Consob obscures 5 illegal websites and warns against the initiatives related to the misuse of well-known public figures image to promote financial investments (Press Release of 15th May 2020)

PRESS RELEASE

Consob is alerting savers, through a specific Warning Notice, of the practice adopted by the abusive financial operators making an improper use of the name and of the image as well of well-known public figures to induce savers to the signing up of investment proposals supported by the promise of easy earnings.

Consob also ordered the blackout of 5 new websites, offering abusive financial services.

The Authority availed itself of the powers resulting from the "Growth Decree" (Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet connectivity service providers to inhibit access from Italy to the websites through which financial services are offered without due authorization.

Here below the names of said companies and websites:

- Uptos Ltd (website www.uptos.com)

- Swissgems Ltd and Media Solutions Ltd (website www.marketscfd.net)

- Zurichbanc Ltd (website www.zurichbanc.co)

- Platinumpro Investment Ltd (website https://platinumproinvestment.com)

- Bitcoin-Trader (website https://bitcointrader.software).

Accordingly, it has risen to 204 the overall number of websites which have been obscured by Consob starting from July 2019, since the Authority was empowered to order the blackout of abusive financial intermediaries websites.

The measures adopted by Consob are available on the website www.consob.it.

The activities for the blackout of the said websites by the Internet connectivity providers operating on the Italian territory are in progress. For technical reasons it can take a few days for making them effective.

Consob warns all savers about the value of making use of their utmost diligence in order to make their investment choices in full awareness, by the adoption of behaviors based on common sense, which are essential to safeguard their savings: among these, a preventive verification, with respect to websites offering financial services, that the subject through which the investment is made is an authorized entity and, in relation to financial products offers, that the prospectus has been published.

To this end, Consob reminds that on the homepage of its website www.consob.it , it is available the section "Watch out for scams!", where useful information have been published for the purpose of warning investors with relation to abusive financial initiatives.

 Press Release PDF version