Italy’s Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) has ordered the blocking of access to eight new websites that offer financial services illegally.

In issuing the orders, the Authority made use of the powers deriving from the “Decreto crescita” (“Growth Decree”; Law no. 58 of 28 June 2019, Article no. 36, paragraph 2-terdecies), on the basis of which Consob can order Internet service providers to block access from Italy to websites offering financial services without the proper authorization.

The websites targeted by the latest Consob orders are:

• “HF Investments” (website https://hf-investments.pro and related pages https://hf-investments.trade and https://web.hf-investments.live);
• “2139 Exchange” (websites https://2139.one, https://2139.nl, https://2139a.com and https://2139.lol);
• “GMT Brokers Ltd” (website https://gmtbrokers.net and related page https://portal.tradingfxapp.app);
• For Trade Ltd (website https://acmarketscfd.net and related page https://client.acmarketscfd.net);
• “First State Investments (Ireland) Limited” (website www.fsi247.io and related pages https://client.fsi247.io and https://webtrader.fsi247.io).

The number of websites blacked out since July 2019, when Consob got the power to order that the websites of fraudulent financial intermediaries be blocked, has thus risen to 1152. Last week, the regulator ordered the blocking of access to four unauthorized investment websites.

The black-out of these websites by Internet service providers operating on Italian territory is ongoing. For technical reasons, it can take several days for the blocking to be implemented.

Consob draws investors’ attention to the importance of adopting the greatest diligence in order to make informed investment choices, adopting common sense behaviors, essential to safeguard their savings. These include checking in advance whether the operator with whom you are investing is authorized. If you see offers of financial products, check whether a prospectus has been published.

To this end, Consob would remind you that on the website www.consob.it there is a section on the homepage, “Watch for Scams!”, providing useful information to warn investors against financially unauthorized initiatives.