Belgium's Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) has flagged 30 online trading platforms offering unlicensed services in the country. A clone of CoinDesk, a popular crypto news site owned by venture capital firm Digital Currency Group (DCG), is one of them.

In addition, the black platforms also include ApexCryptoLive, Bitnexltd, FortuneFX, Spotchains, Vexxsel, etc., to the website CoinDesk clone platform: Coinsdesk (coinsdesk.org), currently, the website is no longer available. The full list can be found on the FSMA website.

The FSMA said the platforms listed were "very active" in acquiring new customers and persuading victims to grant remote access to their personal computers. Popular strategies also include encouraging people to deposit more and more money after an investment fails, and offering the option to withdraw funds after making another final deposit.

Users who are defrauded in this way often face situations where they don't get their money back and the fraudsters run, and FSMA warns that in most cases these are the fraudsters' usual tactics: "The fraudsters not only act without the necessary authorisation, but also transfer the invested funds." In this case, investors cannot get their money back because these illegal service providers are usually located abroad."

Source: Seray Headlines