BaFin Warns Consumers About Unauthorized Website

BaFin News

Published March 12th, 2026

Detected March 12th, 2026

Summary

The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has issued a warning to consumers regarding the website europecapitalmarkets(.)com. BaFin has received information indicating that the operators are conducting banking business and/or financial services without the necessary authorization and are not supervised by BaFin.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

BaFin has issued a consumer warning concerning the website europecapitalmarkets(.)com, stating that its operators are offering banking and/or financial services without the required authorization from BaFin. This action is taken under Section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (KWG). The warning highlights that companies offering such services in Germany must be authorized by BaFin, and consumers can verify authorization through BaFin's company database.

Consumers are strongly advised to exercise extreme caution when seeking to invest money online and to conduct thorough research to identify potential fraud attempts. BaFin, in conjunction with law enforcement agencies, recommends this proactive approach to protect against fraudulent schemes. While this is a warning and not an enforcement action with penalties, engaging with unauthorized entities carries significant risks for consumers, including potential loss of funds.

What to do next

Review BaFin's company database before engaging with any financial service provider.
Exercise extreme caution with online investment opportunities.
Report suspected unauthorized financial services to BaFin.

Source document (simplified)

Erscheinung: 12.03.2026 | Topic Unauthorised business, Consumer protection BaFin warns consumers about the website europecapitalmarkets(.)com

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) warns consumers about the services offered on the website europecapitalmarkets(.)com. BaFin has information that the operators are offering banking business and/or financial services on this website without the required authorisation. The operators are not supervised by BaFin.

Banking business, financial services and cryptoasset services may only be offered in Germany with authorisation from BaFin. However, some companies offer these services without the required authorisation. Information on whether a particular company has been granted authorisation by BaFin can be found in BaFin ’s database of companies.

BaFin is issuing this warning on the basis of section 37 (4) of the German Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz – KWG).

Please be aware:

BaFin, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt – BKA) and the German state criminal police offices (Landeskriminalämter) recommend that consumers seeking to invest money online should exercise the utmost caution and do the necessary research beforehand in order to identify fraud attempts at an early stage.

Did you find this article helpful?

We appreciate your feedback Your feedback helps us to continuously improve the website and to keep it up to date. If you have any questions and would like us to contact you, please use our contact form. Please send any disclosures about actual or suspected violations of supervisory provisions to our contact point for whistleblowers.

We appreciate your feedback helpful less helpful Comment (max. 1000 characters): * Mandatory field