Choose the firm behind the logo.

Broker groups often use one trading name across several companies. The company serving a UK retail client may be different from the company serving someone overseas. Your job is to identify the specific chain for your account, not the group in general.

Clone firms deliberately mix genuine names and reference numbers with false websites, phone numbers or payment details. That is why an FRN copied from the footer is not enough. [1][3]

For a UK account, start with the FCA Firm Checker and Financial Services Register. Type the legal name or reference yourself. Do not follow a register link supplied by a salesperson or assume the first search-engine result is genuine.

1. 1
   Search the legal name and FRN

   Match the spelling, company number, status and trading names.

2. 2
   Read warnings and history

   Look for clone-firm notices, restrictions, former names and status changes.

3. 3
   Match the domain and contacts

   Compare the website, email, telephone and address with the official record.

4. 4
   Call back independently

   Use a number from the register to confirm the website, account entity and representative.

5. 5
   Save the evidence

   Keep a dated PDF or screenshot of the record and the agreement you accepted.

Outside the UK, repeat the same process on the regulator for the entity and client jurisdiction. US retail forex dealers generally fall within CFTC/NFA registration rules; NFA BASIC is the official place to inspect registration and disciplinary history. Australia uses ASIC's AFS licensing framework, while EU national authorities implement the applicable CFD measures. [12][13][14][15]

In FCA language, an authorised firm has permission to carry on particular regulated activities. A merely registered firm may have met registration requirements without having permission to provide the investment service you want. Read the permissions, requirements and restrictions—not just the status badge. [1]

FCA client-assets rules apply when a firm holds or controls client money or safe-custody assets as part of its business. They are designed to keep client money and assets safe if a firm fails and exits the market. That is a legal framework, not a promise that every insolvency will be instant or loss-free. [5]

FOS says complain to the business first. Its consumer process says the firm normally has eight weeks for a final response and that a consumer normally needs to contact FOS within six months of that final response. Check current eligibility and deadlines when an issue occurs. [7][8]

FSCS does not cover poor investment performance. Its investment guidance says the firm must be authorised and the service and product must be regulated for protection to apply; it advises consumers to confirm their specific position. [6]

In the UK, rolling spot foreign exchange is included in the FCA's CFD product measures. For retail clients, the framework includes leverage limits between 30:1 and 2:1 depending on the underlying, a 50% margin close-out rule, negative-balance protection for the trading account, a ban on trading inducements and a standardised loss warning. [4]

Rules differ by jurisdiction. ASIC's retail CFD measures and EU product-intervention framework also include leverage, margin close-out and negative-balance controls, but never import one country's limits into another account. Verify the regulator and rules that govern the named entity serving you. [14][15]

Build a cost sheet for the pairs, sizes and holding times you intend to trade. FCA cost rules cover the total price and related fees, commissions, charges, expenses and—where relevant—currency conversion. The FCA's current costs framework expressly includes items such as bid-ask spreads, commissions, financing and account charges for CFDs. [9]

The order-execution policy should tell you how the firm weighs price, costs, speed, likelihood and venue or counterparty factors. FCA rules require firms within scope to seek the best possible result and give clients information about their execution policy; for retail orders, total consideration includes price and costs.[10]

A broker may be the counterparty in OTC forex. The CFTC warns that a familiar platform is not proof of legitimacy and that the dealer controls the information displayed on its own electronic platform. Treat the platform as a tool, not a regulator badge. [12]

Funding by a method you cannot reverse, a beneficiary unrelated to the contracting firm, or an extra “tax”, “insurance” or “release” payment demanded before withdrawal should stop the process. The CFTC describes complaints involving offshore dealers that became unresponsive or demanded additional payments when customers tried to withdraw. [12]

Download platform software through the verified firm's registered domain or the platform provider—not an attachment sent in a private message. Keep the server name and entity together in your evidence pack so you do not accidentally log into a similarly named server.

Demo can tell you whether the interface fits your routine. It cannot prove live liquidity, slippage, withdrawal performance or how the firm handles a complaint. Keep the first live verification small enough that the test itself does not create a meaningful financial risk.

FCA and CFTC consumer warnings both describe clone details, high-pressure sales, unrealistic returns, private messaging and social-media approaches as recurring danger signs. [3][11][12]