IOSCO Investor Alerts Portal

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is the global standard-setter for securities regulation, with members in over 130 jurisdictions. Its Investor Alerts Portal at iosco.org/investor-alert is a free database where member securities regulators from across the world post public warnings about entities that appear to be offering investment products without proper registration or that have been identified as fraudulent. The portal covers warnings from dozens of regulators including the SEC (US), FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), MAS (Singapore), and many others.

The portal is particularly useful for identifying so-called 'boiler room' operations and investment fraud websites that target investors internationally. A firm that has been warned against by one regulator often continues operating under a different name in other jurisdictions, so the aggregate view across multiple regulators is more powerful than any single national database.

Consumers considering an investment that they found online, received by cold call, or were introduced to through social media should search the IOSCO portal as part of their due diligence. Finding the firm in the portal is a strong warning sign; not finding it does not mean it is legitimate. Investors should also check the warning databases of their own national regulators (FCA in the UK, ASIC in Australia, SEC in the US, etc.). The portal does not accept direct consumer reports; reporting should be made to the relevant national regulator.