Beware the Doppelganger: UK FCA Exposes Fake BUX Trading Platform

<p>The
Amsterdam-based commission-free trading platform, BUX, has gained significant
popularity among retail investors in recent years by offering trades in stocks,
ETFs, and cryptocurrencies. One downside to this success is the increasing
number of companies and individuals impersonating the platform. This week, the
UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning about one such clone.</p><p>FCA Warns against BUX
Clone</p><p>The
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/news/warnings/trader-bux-markets-traderbux-marketscom-clone-fca-authorised-firm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">announced yesterday (Monday) that a fraudulent
company, Trader BUX Markets, is attempting to impersonate</a> the officially
registered UK-based BUX Financial Services Limited, a subsidiary of the
European fintech firm. </p><p>The FCA
cautions that clone firms often mimic authorized companies' details to deceive
people into thinking they're legitimate. It urges people to avoid any dealings
with these clones as they could result in financial loss. </p><p>"This
firm is not authorized by us but has been contacting people pretending to be an
authorized firm. This is what we call a clone firm," the FCA warned in its
latest statement.</p><p>The clone
operates under the website trader.bux-markets.com, contacting potential clients
via the email address [email protected]. The official BUX site is
buxmarkets.com, and the email address for official communication in the UK is [email protected].</p><p>Although
the clone company's website significantly differs from the original platform, the logo is identical. </p><p>It turns out that this is not the first time someone has tried to impersonate BUX. The FCA issued a warning in November 2022 about another company named BUX Forex.</p><p>The FCA
reminds people to only deal with financial firms authorized by them, as this
offers greater protection if things go wrong. They also encourage verifying any
firm's credentials in the <a href="https://register.fca.org.uk/s/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Financial Services Register (FSR)</a> to ensure they have
the appropriate licenses for providing investment services.</p><p><a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Finance
Magnates</a> has
repeatedly reported on clones of popular brands in the <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/r/retail-trading/">retail trading</a> market.
In August, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/news-nuggets-16-august-etoro-partners-with-reflexivity-bafin-exposes-fortex-clone/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Germany's BaFin exposed a clone of broker Fortex</a>, while in June,
Italy's <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/consob-blocks-access-to-clone-sites-of-etrade-and-activtrades/" target="_blank" rel="follow">Consob warned against companies impersonating E*TRADE and ActivTrades</a>.
Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/cysec-warns-against-oanda-tms-clone-website/" target="_blank" rel="follow">CySEC warned about a clone of OANDA TMS</a>, a Polish brokerage
acquired by OANDA in 2021.</p><p>What's Happening at BUX?</p><p>After
almost two years as the Managing Director at the European financial technology
firm BUX, Jean-Raphael Nahas has revealed his <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/executives/former-bux-managing-director-joins-zara-fx-as-chief-operating-officer/" target="_blank" rel="follow">move to the retail trading broker
Zara FX, taking up the Group Chief Operating Officer</a> position. This personnel
shift follows closely on the heels of Zara FX's recent appointment of a new
Chief Financial Officer.</p><p>Simultaneously,
BUX has responded to market demand by extending its offerings to include
financial instruments usually exclusive to institutional investors. In
collaboration with investment behemoth BlackRock, the company has introduced
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/beyond-institutional-bux-unveils-corporate-bond-access-for-the-masses/" target="_blank" rel="follow">iBonds ETFs</a> to its product lineup. These ETFs merge the features of traditional
bonds and ETFs, offering European retail investors an economical pathway to the
corporate bond market. </p><p>Additionally,
BUX has rebranded its zero-commission <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/t/trading-platform/">trading platform</a>, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/news-nuggets-22-may-bux-zero-rebrands-xtb-mena-adds-shares-trading/" target="_blank" rel="follow">BUX Zero, to align it
with its core brand</a>. This rebranding effort is a continuation of last year's
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/brokers/bux-rebrands-cfds-trading-platform-to-stryk/" target="_blank" rel="follow">rebranding of its CFD platform to Stryk</a>, formerly BUX X, to better
differentiate between its multiple trading brands.</p>

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.