On Monday, The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) and the Italian regulatory published another list of unregulated FX companies suggesting illicit services to Italians. Unlike the general unregulated brokers, whose websites resemble Windows 95 clip-art, the companies CONSOB alerted users against today are processing fairly slick websites. This is worrying given that a more professional looking website is more likely to fool inexperienced investors into passing their means over to the shady figures running unregulated brokers.

The first broker CONSOB informed the users about today is Capital Markets Banc. The organization is aimed to have offices in Dominica and Bulgaria but it is not clear as to whether they have any factual presence in either country. Outside of the site itself, users report, that the site is a scam operation, with clients complaining that they cannot withdraw their funds from their site accounts.

The next exchange included in the list is 100XFX. Built in that hub of commercial activity, St Vincent and the Grenadines, the company declares that it applies Barclays, HSBC and CitiBank as liquidity providers. Although also listing a phone number in the UK, the organization appears to be Russian in origin. Referring CONSOB’s warning, and a litany of negative reviews, this author recommends against doing any business with 100XFX.

The owners of Capital Markets Banc are actually operating another site that CONSOB warned about today - Centro Banc. Conducting out of Liechtenstein, the firm proposes almost the same services as Capital Markets Banc. Considering that it is exactly the same people processing the site, there seems to be no reason that this site is registered.

It is really important for regulators today to stay on top and alert investors against trading with such firms. These organizations tarnish the reputation of an industry that is currently observed with suspicion, or even disdain, by many people.