The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned consumers against trusting online customer testimonies, which the regulator said are favoured trust-building techniques by scammers.
Research from the regulator found almost one-quarter (23%) of those surveyed trusted investment companies more if they displayed online customer testimonies. The FCA said scammers create "highly professional-looking" online investment platforms featuring customer reviews, logos and statements to lure investors. It said one-in-nine (11%) consumers do not check whether a firm is regulated or registered with Companies House before investing, with £87,000 now being lost to binary option scams every day. Binary options allow consumers to bet on the price of a stock, commodity, currency ...
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