HotForexMarket (clone of an FCA authorised firm)

What Is This Scam?

HotForexMarket is a fraudulent financial services operation that impersonates an established, FCA-regulated forex broker. The scammers behind this clone operate a fake website and use fabricated contact channels to deceive potential investors into depositing money for forex trading services. This type of scam targets retail investors and traders who may be searching for legitimate regulated brokers, exploiting their trust in official-sounding company names and professional-looking websites to steal funds or harvest personal financial information.

The fraudsters use sophisticated cloning techniques to create near-identical digital footprints to the genuine firm, including similar branding, domain names, and email addresses that closely resemble legitimate contact details. Victims who interact with these fake channels believe they are opening accounts with a regulated, trustworthy provider when in reality they are dealing with unregistered criminals.

Who Are They Impersonating?

HotForexMarket is cloning HF Markets (UK) Limited, a legitimate financial services firm properly authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom.

• Legitimate Firm Name: HF Markets (UK) Limited
• FCA Firm Reference Number: 801701
• Registered Address: Bloomsbury Building, 10 Bloomsbury Way, Holborn, London, WC1A 2SL, UNITED KINGDOM
• Legitimate Telephone: +442035199890
• Legitimate Email: [email protected]
• Official Website: www.hfmarkets.co.uk
• Regulatory Authority: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

HF Markets holds proper FCA authorisation, meaning it meets strict regulatory standards and is subject to ongoing supervision and compliance requirements designed to protect consumers.

Evidence & Regulatory Action

The fraudulent operation has been formally identified and publicly warned against by the FCA. On September 30, 2024, the FCA published an official warning against HotForexMarket as an unauthorised clone firm. This warning is available on the FCA's official warnings page.

The FCA has also registered HotForexMarket on its register of unauthorised firms, where it is explicitly noted that "this is an unauthorised firm that uses the details of a genuine FCA-regulated firm." This regulatory action demonstrates that UK financial authorities are actively monitoring and exposing this clone operation.

Multiple financial news sources and scam registries have documented this fraud, confirming the fraudulent contact details and warning potential victims.

Red Flags

• Website URL is https://www.hotforexltd.com — slightly different from the legitimate www.hfmarkets.co.uk
• Email address [email protected] does not match the legitimate [email protected]
• The firm is not listed on the FCA register as authorised and is specifically flagged as unauthorised
• The scammers use a lookalike domain name designed to confuse investors searching for the real HF Markets
• Contact telephone number 3037108109 does not match the legitimate +442035199890
• Unsolicited contact offering forex trading services with guaranteed or unrealistic returns
• Pressure to deposit funds quickly without proper due diligence opportunity

What To Do If You Have Been Contacted

• Do not click links or download files from suspicious emails or messages claiming to be from HotForexMarket
• Do not provide personal, bank account, or payment card information to unknown parties
• Do not deposit any funds into accounts controlled by this operation
• Verify any forex broker independently using the FCA's official register before engaging with them
• Report the fraudulent website, email, and telephone number to the FCA via its official reporting channels
• If you have already sent money, contact your bank or payment provider immediately to report the fraud
• Keep records of all communications with the scammers for evidence and law enforcement