FCA Investment Platform Warning List

Type a firm or platform name and get an instant verdict against our curated regulator-warning index — FCA Warning List, FCA Firm Checker, OCCRP Scam Empire, California DFPI Crypto Scam Tracker, and FXLeaders blacklist. Always cross-check against the live FCA Warning List for authoritative status. Runs entirely in your browser.

Last reviewed: 14 May 2026 · ScamSupport research

Why use this AND the official FCA list? The official FCA Warning List uses exact-match search and indexes only FCA-flagged firms. Our curated index has 52 entries (and growing), supports fuzzy / partial / domain matching, and additionally surfaces OCCRP investigation findings, DFPI crypto-scam tracker hits, and FCA Firm Checker authorisation status — in one search. For full authoritative coverage, follow up on the live FCA Warning List.

Try the firm name, an alias (e.g. “Binance UK”), or a domain. Spelling variations are tolerated.

Try one of these

Click a name to see what a known-fraud / known-good / lookalike entry looks like:

What is the FCA Warning List?

The FCA Warning List is the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s published register of firms that are operating without authorisation, impersonating regulated firms (“clone firms”), or are otherwise suspected of carrying out regulated financial-services activity in the UK without the required permissions. It’s the single most important UK reference when assessing whether to deposit money with an investment platform, broker, or crypto exchange.

The FCA adds firms when complaints + investigation produce reasonable grounds for warning. Entries can be removed when firms cease activity or correct status, so always check against the current list rather than relying on cached or third-party copies.

The five verdict tiers in our index

  • Red — Known fraud: firm appears on the FCA Warning List OR is cited by OCCRP / DFPI / FXLeaders as an active scam. Do not engage.
  • Unauthorised in UK: firm is operating financial services without FCA authorisation. May or may not be a scam, but you have no FOS / FSCS protection.
  • Lookalike: domain or trading name impersonates a real authorised firm. Typosquat or clone firm.
  • Green — Authorised: firm appears on the live FCA Register with a valid Firm Reference Number (FRN). Verify the FRN on the FCA Register before transacting.
  • Amber — No warning found: firm is not in our index AND not flagged by our sources. Doesn’t mean it’s safe — only that we have no positive or negative signal. Check the FCA Warning List + FCA Register directly.

How to use this with the FCA Register

Use this tool as a fast first-line check. If our index returns red / unauthorised / lookalike, that’s sufficient signal to walk away. If green, verify the firm’s Firm Reference Number (FRN) on the live FCA Financial Services Register before transacting. If amber (no signal), do not assume safe — check the live FCA Warning List directly + cross-check Companies House and the firm’s claimed regulatory citations independently.

Why fuzzy matching matters for FCA Warning List searches

Scam firms deliberately use lookalike spellings, alternate punctuation, and domain variants to evade exact-match searches. The official FCA Warning List search is exact-match; ours uses fuzzy / substring / alias matching so “Brilion-X”, “brilionxinv.com”, and “Brilion X” all surface the same entry. Some real examples from our index include common typosquats of Binance, Coinbase, and FCA-authorised broker names.

If we don’t have the firm in our index

Our 52-entry curated index covers the highest-priority recent FCA Warning List additions plus historical scam-fingerprinted platforms. We update the dataset as new entries are flagged. If your firm doesn’t appear, the right next steps are:

  1. Search the official FCA Warning List using the firm’s exact name + any domain variants.
  2. Search the FCA Financial Services Register for a Firm Reference Number (FRN) and active authorisation status.
  3. Cross-check the firm on Companies House — recent company registrations + nominee directors are a red flag.
  4. Use our Investment Pitch Analyser to test the firm’s pitch (cold-call urgency, “guaranteed returns”, withdrawal-fee patterns) against the 8 strongest scam-pattern signals.

Frequently asked questions

Why isn’t every FCA-Warning-List firm in your index?

The full FCA Warning List runs into thousands of entries with frequent updates. Our index prioritises (a) firms with confirmed UK victim impact, (b) firms cross-referenced by OCCRP / DFPI / FXLeaders, and (c) recent high-volume scam-pattern firms. The official list is the authoritative source; ours is the curated quick-check.

Does an entry in the FCA Warning List mean the firm is definitely a scam?

The FCA adds firms to the Warning List based on substantiated risk, but the list isn’t a criminal conviction. The practical implication is: do not deposit money with a Warning List firm. Any deposit means you have no FCA / FOS / FSCS protection and very limited recovery routes.

What if I’ve already deposited with a firm in the index?

Move fast. Use the Where to Report routing tool for your specific situation; the typical recovery routes are bank-side claims (PSR Mandatory Reimbursement Scheme, chargeback, or Section 75 if you used a credit card) plus Report Fraud, FCA report-an-unauthorised-firm, and FOS escalation if the bank refuses.

Why include FCA-authorised firms in a Warning List tool?

Because authorised firms get impersonated. A green verdict tells you the legitimate firm exists; we then surface the lookalike entries that share its name or domain pattern. Typosquat broker domains (especially Binance / Coinbase / eToro lookalikes) are the dominant 2026 attack pattern.

Related ScamSupport tools and pages

Sources

This quick-check is provided for guidance only. It is not legal or financial advice. Always cross-check against the live FCA Warning List + FCA Register for authoritative status. For substantial losses or complex cases, consider engaging an SRA-regulated solicitor.