Pepperstone’s Group CEO, Tamas Szabo, said the broker is forced to take down scam websites and fake social media accounts impersonating the firm almost every day. In a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, Szabo said the impersonation attempts target both Pepperstone’s clients and brand, creating an ongoing challenge for its fraud team.

“We are having to take down scam websites and social media accounts impersonating Pepperstone on an almost daily basis to protect both our clients and brand. We've purchased over a hundred variants of our domain but haven't been able to capture them all. It has become a full time job for our fraud team to take these sites down.”

Szabo Calls Out Domain Registrars

According to Szabo, Pepperstone has purchased more than a hundred domain variants in an effort to prevent misuse, but fraudulent sites continue to appear.

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Szabo criticized domain registrars for failing to curb the problem, suggesting that some may be allowing illegal activities by approving deceptive registrations. “Surely domain registrants should be doing more to stop this. I can only assume what they are facilitating is all just out and out illegal behaviour.”

Cybersquatting Cases Highlight Broader Problem

The CEO cited several examples of misspelt domains — including pepperston.com, peppersone.com, and pepperstoe.com — that attempt to redirect traffic away from Pepperstone’s official site.

“To top this off we have firms cybersquatting on misspelt domains trying to direct traffic away from Pepperstone - here are a few examples: www.pepperston.com , www.peppersone.com , www.pepperstoe.com.”

Szabo described the situation as “frustrating” and “depressingly part of daily business,” reflecting a broader trend of online impersonation targeting financial service providers.

Expect ongoing updates as this story evolves.

Source: Finance Magnates