London – September 22, 2026 -- Fortrade is warning consumers about a fake website, fortradelimited.com, that has been contacting people while falsely claiming to be Fortrade Limited. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority published a warning about the site on August 17, 2026, confirming it is not authorised and has no connection to the genuine, FCA-regulated firm.

Chris Warburton, CEO of Fortrade, said clone firms rely on borrowing a legitimate company's name and reputation to make unsolicited contact feel credible. He said the best defense is making it easy for people to verify exactly who they are dealing with before responding.

The genuine Fortrade carries an FCA reference number and a fixed web address

The FCA warning confirms the authorised firm's Firm Reference Number as 609970. Fortrade's official website is www.fortrade.com. The company is advising anyone contacted by parties claiming to represent Fortrade to check details through official channels rather than trusting phone numbers, emails, or links supplied in the message itself.

The FCA runs a Firm Checker tool that lets anyone confirm whether a financial firm is authorised and locate its verified contact information. Fortrade is directing consumers to use this tool directly instead of relying on unprompted contact details.

Dealing with the clone firm strips away regulatory protection

The FCA warning states that anyone who deals with the clone site will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service if a dispute arises, and will not be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the firm collapses. That means victims would be unlikely to recover any money lost. Existing Fortrade clients are not affected by the clone, and the firm's accounts and platforms remain unchanged.

Warburton noted that impersonation of regulated firms has become more common across the financial sector. "This is not unique to Fortrade. Clone firms target the names of regulated companies across the industry precisely because that name carries trust,