The Ombudsman Office FINSOM warns against the domains ombudsman-fs.co and ombudsman.fs.xyz.
According to information on the website https://ombudsman-fs.co/, it allegedly belongs to “Ombudsman Financial Services”, which supposedly has an office in Switzerland (Zurich Office, Franklinstrasse 27, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland. Tel. +41 41 533 14 56) and in Spain (Madrid Office, C. de Manuel Tovar, 42, 2º planta Edificio, Fuencarral-El Pardo, 28034, Madrid, Spain. Tel: +31 207 300 453). This ombudsman would be active in debt recovery, legal and dispute resolution services in the EU. This ombudsman would be authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for accounts created under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (as amended in 2006). The domain ombudsman.fs.xyz is used for email correspondence. This supposed Ombudsman, who claims to be authorised in the United Kingdom (UK), offers help in recovering stolen assets.
FINSOM reminds that the second phase of an investment or cryptocurrency fraud (for example) is often followed by fraud or misleading information regarding the recovery of assets. During this second phase, fraudsters often pose as lawyers, police officers, dispute resolution bodies or public authorities.
FINSOM also reminds that the Federal Department of Finance (FDF) publishes a list of extrajudicial dispute resolution bodies (or “ombudsman offices”) that are recognised in the Swiss financial market under the Financial Services Act (FinSA). FIN-NET publishes a list of bodies recognised in the Spanish financial market and other EU countries. The Financial Conduct Authority is a financial market supervisory authority in the UK. The recognised ombudsman office in the UK financial market is the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The regulation of alternative dispute resolution may vary from one country to another or from one sector or subject to another within the same country. Alternative dispute resolution is not always organised or regulated by the legislator. If in doubt regarding ombudsman offices or alternative dispute resolution in the Swiss financial sector, please contact the Legal Service of the DFF. You can also contact FINSOM.