FCA fraud prevention procedures changing
Big news from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – they’re sharpening their fraud prevention toolkit. The regulator announced it will now have the power to cancel or amend a firm’s permission within 28 days if the firm fails to take appropriate action after a warning.
Key highlights:
Firms must now prove they are actively using the regulated activity they’re authorised for — or risk losing that permission.
The move is aimed at tackling impersonation and cloning of authorised firms — eight recent warnings were for “clone” firms passing themselves off as real ones.
Examples of trigger points: marketing high-risk products without authorisation; failing to pay regulatory fees or submit returns (which may indicate the permission is unused).
This is an extension of the “use it or lose it” initiative introduced in 2021.
At Watchdog Services, we track permissions and regulatory data across the board — including FCA permissions and agency data from the Companies House. We help firms keep on top of authorisations, cancellations and any shifts that could impact regulatory compliance.