FCA warns client.octopus-firm.com is a clone of FCA-authorised Octopus Investments
The FCA warned on 30 October 2026 that client.octopus-firm.com is an unauthorised clone of FCA-authorised Octopus Investments Limited, which has no connection with it.
- First reported
- Reports
- 1
Source: fca.org.uk · published
What happened
On 30 October 2026 the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) warned that “Client.octopus-firm.com” is a clone of an FCA-authorised firm. The FCA says it is not authorised by the FCA but has been contacting people while pretending to be an authorised firm. The details it lists as used by the fraudsters are the website https://client.octopus-firm.com and the email address denisphilippe@octopus-firm.email. The FCA says the genuine authorised firm being copied is Octopus Investments Limited, which has no connection with the clone, and which is not involved in the operation.
How the scam works
The FCA warning does not describe how people were contacted or what they were offered. A clone firm borrows the real name of an authorised business so that a search on the FCA register seems to confirm that the contact is genuine. Here the website is a subdomain of a different address, octopus-firm.com, and the email address ends in .email, neither of which is the real firm's. The FCA notes that scammers may give out other false details, including email addresses, telephone numbers, postal addresses and Firm Reference Numbers, and that they may mix false details with a genuine firm's details.
The FCA's explanation of the consequences is that if you deal with the clone you will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service to complain, and will not be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so it is unlikely you would get your money back. For money sent to a fraudster on or after 7 October 2024, protections introduced by the Payment Systems Regulator may apply. The FCA advises using its Firm Checker to confirm that a financial firm is authorised and to find its genuine contact details, and to reply to unexpected contact using only those details.
Source
Financial Conduct Authority, warning “Client.octopus-firm.com (clone of FCA authorised firm)”, first published 30 October 2026.
Red flags
- A contact using client.octopus-firm.com or an @octopus-firm.email address.
- A name that matches the authorised Octopus Investments Limited but a different website and email domain.
- Unexpected contact about investments from a firm that says it is authorised.
- Details that do not match those on the FCA register for the real firm.
- A mix of real firm details with unverifiable numbers or addresses.
If you were targeted
- 1Do not deal with client.octopus-firm.com or reply to the email address the FCA lists.
- 2Look up Octopus Investments Limited yourself on the FCA Firm Checker and use only the contact details there.
- 3Do not send money or documents to an unsolicited contact; hang up and call back on a number you verified.
- 4If you paid, contact your bank at once; payments made on or after 7 October 2024 may be covered by PSR protections.
- 5Report clone firms to the FCA on 0800 111 6768 or through its online form.