Belgium'sFinancial Services and Markets Authority (FMS)A issued a fresh public warning today(Thursday) over a wave of online trading scams that use staged interviews withexecutives at large banks to lure investors into depositing as little as 250euros.A clone ofSwissquote, also popular in the CFD industry, was included on the list.Singapore Summit: Meet the largestAPAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)Belgium's FSMA Adds 47Trading Platforms to Fraud BlacklistThe FSMAsaid the fake interviews show a journalist criticizing bank lending productsbefore suggesting viewers can build wealth more quickly through a system thatlets them "get rich quick" with a small initial outlay. Theinterviews are fabricated and the products on offer are fraudulent, theregulator said. Belgium has a history of aggressive intervention againstunlicensed online brokers, and the FSMA's warning lists have grown steadilyover the past year, with its H2 2025 dashboard recording €23.4 million in reportedconsumer losses, of which more than €10.5 million was tied to fraudulenttrading platforms.In total,the regulator named 14 websites it said funnel consumers towardfraudulent trading platforms. It separately advised the public against 33platforms, among them a clone operating under the Swissquote name fromswissquote-es.com and another clone using the brand Innovate X Capital. Otherentries on the longer list include Arko Group, Axstera, Genesisarbit, LotmentCapital, NewRockwood, PrymexEnergy and Rockpoint Partners.How the Schemes ReachBelgian InvestorsAccordingto the FSMA, scammers use a familiar mix of channels to make first contact:paid advertisements featuring celebrities, the new fake CEO interviews frontedby recognizable television presenters, dedicated recruitment websites, profileson dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble and Happn, and invitations to closedtrading groups on WhatsApp or Telegram. The pitchis consistent across each channel: returns well in excess of what conventionalinvesting typically delivers.Once atarget registers, the platform asks for an opening deposit, often around 250euros. The regulator said fraudsters sometimes ask victims to installremote-access software, ostensibly to help with transfers, which can be used todeploy malware or spyware. The250-euro entry point matches the threshold the FSMA flagged in an earlier warning this year about networks of scam platformsoperating across Europe.Deepfakes Push the TacticAcross BordersThe use offabricated interviews with bank executives mirrors a pattern other regulatorshave documented over the past year. New Zealand's Financial Markets Authority warned in 2025 about Facebook pages runningAI-generated videos of well-known financial commentators to recruit users intoWhatsApp investment groups. Germany's BaFin has flagged a similar uptick in AI-drivenschemes promising automated trading returns, and South Africa's FSCA issued public guidance after deepfake clips oflocal celebrities began circulating in fraudulent ad campaigns.The FSMAitself has previously warned about WhatsApp groups impersonating Saxo Bank and JPMorgan to push fake trading apps to retail investors in Belgium. The countrybans the retail sale of contracts for difference and crypto derivatives,leaving local consumers a comparatively narrow set of authorized providers and,regulators argue, more exposure to offshore platforms that operate without alicense.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.