Erscheinung:02.05.2024 | Topic Unauthorised business, Consumer protection Forte Capital LLC: BaFin warns consumers about the website forte.host
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) warns consumers about the website forte.host. According to information available to BaFin, Forte Capital LLC is providing financial and investment services on this website without the required authorisation.
The operator of the website also uses the slightly different name Forté Capital LLC. The company claims to be based in Rochester, New York, USA, with branches in London, United Kingdom, and St. Pölten, Austria.
Forté Capital LLC is a US financial services provider authorised by the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC). There are no indications that the company is actually responsible for the website forte.host. It can be assumed that this is a case of identity theft.
The operator also unlawfully uses the logos of the German Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, the Deutsche Bundesbank and BaFin on its website. BaFin emphasises that it does not supervise Forte/Forté Capital LLC.
Anyone conducting banking business or providing financial or investment services in Germany may do so only with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the necessary authorisation. Information on whether a particular company has been granted authorisation by BaFin can be found in BaFin’s database of companies.
The information provided by BaFin is based on section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG).
Please be aware:
BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that consumers seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud attempts at an early stage.
