The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned about fraudulent shell companies operating under the Expotoro/Tratoro brand, posing as eToro. The FCA has received suspicious reports indicating that the Expotoro and Tratoro brands have displayed eToro license numbers on their websites.

While eToro's official website and the fraudulent entity appear dissimilar, they can be mistaken for the genuine eToro brand at first glance. eToro holds a valid license from the FCA with reference number 583263, and Expotoro and Tratoro have posted the same reference number on their websites. Although Expotoro/Tratoro doesn't explicitly claim to be licensed by the FCA, it has misused eToro's data to persuade traders of its legitimacy.

The FCA highlights that this isn't the first instance of their scrutiny of eToro's clones. Cloning involves impersonating an existing legal entity by providing false information to create an impression of trustworthiness and legitimacy. In 2019, UK regulators warned about FX Option companies posing as local branches of social trading platforms. In 2022, the FCA issued another warning regarding Etro SB Limited.

In an official statement, the FCA said, "Fraudsters may provide other false information such as email addresses, phone numbers, zip codes, and company reference numbers. They may confuse this information with authentic information from legitimate companies. They may also change contact details at any time."