FCA said in its statement, "This firm is not authorized by us and is targeting people in the UK."
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has warned citizens about Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange, FTX. The financial regulator says FTX isn’t authorized to offer financial services or products in the country.
According to the regulator's website,
"This firm is not authorized by us and is targeting people in the UK."
It stated that investors are unlikely to get their money back if things go wrong because they will not be protected by the country's ombudsman service and compensation scheme.
The FCA believes they must issue warnings as soon as possible, considering the risks unregistered or scam firms pose to consumers.
The statement further added,
"Almost all firms and individuals offering, promoting, or selling financial services or products in the UK have to be authorized or registered by us."
The recent warnings from the regulator about FTX are similar to previous notices about Binance. Despite these warnings, the exchanges are still in business in the UK.
However, an FTX spokesperson says the company is aware of the notice. But the FCA listed an incorrect phone number for the exchange, which could be associated with a crypto scam.
Also, Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX, tweeted about the development, stating that a scammer is impersonating FTX in the U.K.
He alerted his Twitter audience thus:
“Heads up: a scammer has been impersonating FTX in the UK by phone! Please only use http://ftx.com, http://ftx.com/eu, http://ftx.us, etc., to access FTX, and do not respond to any phone numbers, etc. FTX will never call you by phone.”
