The Isle of Man Financial Services Authority said on 2 January that it had become aware of a “bogus” website after the regulator failed to establish any association between the website and any genuine Isle of Man companies or businesses.
The website in question, ipswltd.com, had the company name of Island Private Swift Ltd and an email address of info@ipswltd.com.
The island regulator said the website claimed “to represent the company and states that it has an Isle of Man address, namely IPS House, 49C-B Circular Road, Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 1AZ. As far as we can ascertain there is no such legitimate address in the Isle of Man”.
The website also purported to offer a wide range of financial products including but not limited to money transfer and foreign exchange services.
The regulator further said it had seen emails from the potentially bogus company signed off by a Dr. Abdul Wahab as Director, Foreign Currency Operations within the organisation.
It had failed to establish any association between the website and any genuine Isle of Man companies or businesses, and further pointed out that to offer the financial services and products mentioned within the website in or from the Isle of Man, would require them to be licensed or registered by the Authority.
“The company is not licensed or registered with the Authority. A list of all entities licensed or registered by the Authority can be found at:https://www.iomfsa.im/register-search/
“Under the circumstances, the Authority is concerned that any person who has accessed the website may potentially become the victim of fraud, or it may be an attempt at gaining personal data from the browser in order to steal their identity.”
