The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has warned Web users to
ensure that sites offering financial services are FSA-approved
before using them. The advice comes as part of a bid to stamp out
online scams.
The FSA recently identified 63 unregulated sites during the second
international Internet surf day, which saw 41 regulatory bodies in
34 countries looking for companies offering bogus services.
"Growing use of the Internet is reflected in the financial services
market," said the FSA. "As a regulator, it is our job to make sure
people aren't breaking any laws when it comes to selling financial
services."
The FSA said the majority of the 63 sites identified will have
broken its rules unwittingly, but pointed out that until all cases
have been investigated it is impossible to decipher which sites are
intentionally breaking rules.
"There are always people out there trying to pull a fast one," he
said. "There are always going to be cowboys."
The FSA estimates that one in 10 people now do their banking over
the Internet, and promises greater scrutiny of the area.
Emma Nash