Loading…
Nearly all firms offering financial services in the UK must be authorised or registered by the FCA. But this requirement exists because authorization is directly linked to your safety. If a financial firm is authorised by the FCA, it gives you greater protection if things go wrong—access to the Financial Ombudsman Service for complaints and FSCS protection up to £120,000 for savings and £85,000 for investments per person, per authorised firm. Dealing with an unauthorised firm means you lose both.
Clone firms aren't authorised or registered, but scammers try to convince you they are. They'll often use the name and address of a genuine firm, or copy the firm reference number (FRN). Clone firms have become the dominant scam pattern in UK financial services because they are designed specifically to defeat partial authorisation checks.
For example, a consumer who searches the firm name on the Register will find the genuine firm, but a consumer who only checks the firm name has been deceived. The fraudsters then give you different contact details—a different phone number, email, or bank account—so you send money to them instead of the real firm.
### 1. Search the FCA Register by Firm Reference Number
Use the FCA Firm Checker to find out if a firm is authorised and has permission for the service it's offering you. Check the firm's contact details listed on the Firm Checker and make sure they match the contact details you've been given. The FS Register lists all firms and individuals involved with regulated activities that the FCA has currently or previously approved.
Searching by FRN (not just firm name) is more reliable, because a name can be copied more easily than a complete FRN.
### 2. Confirm Authorization Status and Permissions
Once you've found the firm on the Register, check three things:
### 3. Cross-Check Using Other Sources
If anything doesn't match, stop. With fraudsters constantly changing their tactics, you should make extra checks. You can check the firm's details on the firm's website, with Companies House, or independently via a phone number in public records.
Once you've confirmed authorization, understand what you're actually protected for. The protection limit for investment accounts stays at £85,000 per person per firm, and this limit is separate from the higher £120,000 limit now applied to cash deposits in banks. The £85,000 limit applies to investment accounts—including SIPPs and Stocks and Shares ISAs. Anything above £85,000 with the same firm wouldn't be covered by the FSCS. Investments are typically held in custody and ringfenced from the provider's own assets, which is a separate protection mechanism.
Authorization from the FCA is not optional verification—it's the foundation of all other protections. Before you deposit anything, verify the firm yourself using the FCA Firm Checker. Don't rely on what a broker claims on its own website or marketing.
Analysis, not investment advice.
