If you deal with an unauthorised firm, you will not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if things go wrong.

Protect yourself

Unfortunately, there are firms that wrongly operate without our authorisation. If a firm does not appear on the FS Register, but says it does, search for it in the list below. Beware of fraudsters pretending to be from firms authorised by us, as they could be ‘clone firms’. If you’re cold-called by a financial services firm, always ring them back on the number given on the FS Register. Some firms knowingly run scams like share fraud and other investment scams. You should take steps to protect yourself from scams and check our list of warnings from foreign regulators. 

Using the Warning list

We add firms to this list as soon as possible but it’s not exhaustive. Don’t assume a firm is legitimately authorised or registered just because it doesn’t appear on this list. Firms frequently change their names and it may not have been reported to us yet.