A Clone Passes the Check Most People Make
A clone firm is a fraud that presents itself as a real, authorised company. It uses the genuine firm's name, its Firm Reference Number and often its registered address, and may copy the design and wording of its website.
Because the company being impersonated is genuine, a search of the FCA Register returns a real, authorised entry. The register confirms that the firm exists. It cannot confirm that the person contacting you works for that firm.
The Identity Is Copied. The Contact Details Are Not.
A clone can copy everything that is public about a firm, but it needs its own way of reaching you: a different telephone number, a different website address and an email account it controls. These are the details that give it away.
Compare each one with the firm's entry on the FCA Register, reached by typing register.fca.org.uk yourself. A website one letter different from the one on record, a mobile number where the register lists a landline, or an email from a free webmail account are each enough to stop and verify.
Contact the Firm Through the Register, Not Through the Caller
If you are unsure, end the conversation and contact the firm using the telephone number or website listed on the FCA Register, never the details the caller or email supplied. A genuine firm will confirm whether it made the approach.
The FCA publishes warnings about clone firms it is aware of, naming the genuine firm being impersonated and the details the clone has used. A warning confirms a clone exists. Its absence does not prove the approach is genuine.
The Money Goes Somewhere Else
However complete the copy, a clone cannot receive money into the genuine firm's own bank account. It will ask for payment to an account in another name, a personal account, or a cryptoasset wallet, often with a reason why the usual account cannot be used.
The bank's Confirmation of Payee check shows whether the account name matches the firm before any payment leaves your account. A mismatch, or a request to proceed without the check, is the clearest sign of a clone.
If You Have Been Approached
Report a suspected clone to the FCA on 0800 111 6768 and tell the genuine firm, using the contact details on the register. If money has been paid, contact your bank immediately and report the fraud to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or to Police Scotland on 101 if you live in Scotland.
How MetaAshes Examines This
A MetaAshes assessment cross-references a firm's details against the official record in a single pass. For this question, the most relevant checks include:
- Ownership of the reference number
- Official website on record
- Official telephone number on record
- FCA Warning List screening
- Email domain consistency
- Payee name verification
Frequently Asked
The firm's FCA number is genuine. Does that mean the approach is genuine?
No. A clone quotes a genuine number precisely because the number passes a register search. It shows which firm is being claimed, not who is contacting you.
Can a genuine firm use a different telephone number from the register?
Firms do use more than one number, which is why the safest course is to call the number on the register and ask the firm to confirm the approach. A clone cannot answer on that line.
How does MetaAshes identify a clone firm?
A MetaAshes assessment compares the website, telephone number, email domain and payment details you were given with the firm's official record and the FCA Warning List in a single assessment, and records the evidence behind its verdict.
This guide is provided for general information and does not constitute financial or legal advice.