The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has issued a new warning identifying 21 websites operating without the required authorisation to offer investment services. The announcement adds to the regulator’s expanding blacklist, which now includes several hundred suspected fraudulent platforms imitating licensed brokers.
The regulator emphasised that none of the listed entities hold a valid licence under Cypriot law to provide investment or ancillary services, and urged investors to avoid engaging with them.
Growing Blacklist Amid Rising Scam Activity
CySEC’s list of unauthorised investment domains has expanded significantly over the past year. In July 2025, the regulator issued a similar warning, and over the past twelve months it has imposed nearly €3 million in administrative penalties related to misconduct and unlicensed operations.
Several of the newly flagged domains show signs of impersonating reputable trading brands. The domain avacaptal.com closely resembles the name of AvaTrade, a regulated multi-asset broker supervised in Europe and Australia. Another suspicious platform, oneroyalfx.co, appears to mimic OneRoyal, a licensed broker with more than 20 years of operational history.
CySEC Chairman Dr. Giorgos Theocharidis recently reiterated that investment offerings promising unusually high returns “likely are not what they seem,” urging the public to exercise caution.
Full List of Flagged Domains
The 21 domains named in the latest warning are:
fernrise.com, market-trading.ltd, xmarktrades.com, veldorna.pro, pravintol.com, kingsoptiontrade.com, fasat-g.pro, capitaliko.com, finconnect.fr, avacaptal.com, elitesignalmarket.com, iqforextrade.net, metaindextrade.net, premiumwave.online, viptradersclub.com, stockforexinvestment.com, oneroyalfx.co, capitalinvestmentcentre.com, tradeshipglobex.com, cfdoptions.com, quantoria-markets.net.
Quantoria-markets.net has also been flagged by France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers for promoting automated cryptocurrency trading services while operating without any recognised regulatory approval.
CySEC Reminds Investors to Verify Licences
The regulator again urged investors to verify a firm’s authorisation directly through CySEC’s website, where all licensed Cyprus Investment Firms are listed under Article 5 of Law 87(I)/2017. Firms not appearing in the register are not legally permitted to provide investment services from or within Cyprus.
CySEC additionally warned the public about fraudulent emails that impersonate the regulator and request payments for “trading certificates” or for releasing investor funds. The authority stressed that it never contacts individuals to request fees and does not permit third parties to collect money on its behalf.
In response to rising impersonation attempts, the regulator has also taken down its publicly accessible certification register after discovering that scammers were using the information to mimic authorised professionals and investment firms.