BaFin warns of fidus-capital.com misusing FIDUS Finanz AG's identity
Germany's financial regulator BaFin warned that fidus-capital.com may be offering banking, financial and crypto services without authorisation, and that it falsely uses FIDUS Finanz AG's identity.
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Source: bafin.de Ā· published
What happened
Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) warned on October 13, 2026 about offers on the website fidus-capital.com. BaFin suspects the unknown operators are offering banking, financial and crypto-asset services without the required authorisation.
Contrary to the operators' claims, the website is not operated by FIDUS Finanz AG, which has no connection to the site or its services. BaFin describes it as a case of identity theft. BaFin issued the warning under Section 37(4) of the German Banking Act and Section 10(7) of the German Cryptomarkets Supervision Act.
How the scam works
Clone-firm scams copy the name of a real, licensed company so that people who check it find a legitimate business and feel reassured. The fake site then takes deposits for investments or crypto services that the real company never offered.
Anyone offering banking, financial, securities, crypto-asset or payment services in Germany needs BaFin authorisation. BaFin, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the state criminal police offices warn consumers to research carefully before investing online.
Source
BaFin consumer warning, "fidus-capital.com" (October 13, 2026).
Red flags
- An investment website using the name of a real company but a different web address or contact details.
- Offers of banking or crypto services from a firm you cannot find in BaFin's company database.
- Unsolicited investment offers promising high returns.
If you were targeted
- 1Do not send money to fidus-capital.com.
- 2Check whether a firm is authorised in BaFin's company database, and contact the real company using details from the register.
- 3If you paid, contact your bank immediately and report it to the police.
- 4Report the site to BaFin.