For forex, CFD & options brokers

Clone sites, fake apps and “scam” pages can bury a brokerage that played it straight.

We take down clone sites, fake trading apps and brand spam that impersonate your brokerage, and challenge fake and defamatory reviews on WikiFX and Forex Peace Army — on lawful grounds, counsel-led. We do not remove genuine regulator warnings.

Request a 48-hour confidential audit See the typical pattern

Signed by Ihor Makushinsky · NDA-first · No call required to start

€ $ § CASE FILE · FX / CFD BROKER Your brokerage Counsel-led · NDA-first · lawful grounds THREAT OUTCOME · BASIS Clone broker site copies brand + licence number REMOVED DMCA §512 Fake review wave WikiFX · Forex Peace Army REMOVED Defamation “Scam broker” hit-piece founders named · EU subjects DELISTED GDPR Art. 17 Fake broker app impersonating your brokerage REMOVED Trademark REGULATOR CLONE WARNING A clone, not the licensed firm CLARIFIED
What we act onGenuine regulator warnings · not removable
Clone broker sitesDMCA §512 · trademark · registrar abuse
Clones that send traders to a rivalLook-alike and affiliate sites · trusted list first
Fake apps & APKsApp stores, download portals, APK sites
Brand spam on hacked sites“[broker] bonus code” pages · host notices · deindexing
Telegram & social fakesSignal groups, bots, fake support
Fake & defamatory reviewsWikiFX, Forex Peace Army · lawful-grounds challenge
“Scam broker” hit-piecesDefamation where the facts support it
Search visibilityDeindexing · GDPR Art. 17 (EU subjects)
§ 02 · By the numbers
700Removals in 20 days · single enforcement matter
~85%Success rate on qualified filings
30+Jurisdictions under active practice
Operational partner

Lawyerd is a partner in Cloudflare’s Brand Protection programme with API-level access for takedown operations on Cloudflare-protected domains. This is not a public-tier integration — it is a controlled-access channel for verified enforcement practitioners.

§ 03 · Why this matters

A clone firm misuses your name — and the warning lands on you.

For a forex, CFD or options broker, the damage comes from several directions at once. Clone “official” sites copy your brand and licence number — and some quietly send traders to a rival platform through affiliate links. Fake apps carrying your name appear on download portals and APK sites. Hacked websites host “[broker] bonus code” pages that rank for your brand. Fake or defamatory reviews on WikiFX and Forex Peace Army, and “[broker] scam” posts, crowd your brand search. And when a regulator issues a clone warning, confused clients attribute it to you.

Generic ORM agencies treat this as marketing — paid removal, soft requests, brand-management theatre. Big-law treats it as litigation — billed by the hour, scaled for court, not for volume. Both are wrong tools.

What works is fast, lawful, documented action under named statute — defamation law where reviews are false, DMCA §512, copyright and trademark against clone sites and fake apps, GDPR Article 17 for EU data subjects. Filed by counsel. Reviewed before submission. That is the whole of our practice.

Before the first filing, your own domains, mirrors, apps and affiliate IDs go on a trusted list, and nothing is filed until you confirm the finding — so a takedown never hits a partner who sends you traders.

Two hard lines, stated at intake: we do not remove genuine, accurate customer reviews, and we do not remove or suppress legitimate regulator warnings (FCA, CySEC, ASIC and equivalents). Our clone-firm work is about a fraudster misusing your brand — never about a warning that legitimately concerns you.

§ 04 · Our approach

Three constraints, held together.

Speed

Six-day median to removal.

From authorised takedown notice to confirmed delisting. Active matters reviewed daily. Volume operations scale weekly.

Legality

Every removal under named statute.

Berne, EU 2019/790, DMCA Title 17 §512, GDPR Article 17. We do not pay for removal. We do not threaten. We file.

Discretion

Counsel-signed engagements.

Communications encrypted. NDA-first standard. No marketing material includes your name unless you explicitly authorise it.

§ 05 · What these matters look like Recurring shape · anonymised

The clone, the fake app, the warning and the review wall.

The recurring shape: a clone site copies your brand and licence number to defraud traders; an app published under your name spreads through download portals and APK sites; hacked websites rank “[broker] bonus code” pages for your brand; a regulator (FCA, CySEC, ASIC) publishes a “clone firm” warning naming your brand; and a wave of WikiFX / Forex Peace Army reviews and “scam broker” posts follows. We act on the unlawful parts — taking the clones, fake apps and spam pages down via DMCA §512, copyright, trademark and registrar escalation, and challenging fake or defamatory reviews under named statute — and help you surface the regulator’s own “this is a clone, not the licensed firm” clarification. We do not, and cannot, remove a legitimate warning that genuinely concerns your firm.

Method, not a guarantee · outcomes depend on facts and jurisdiction

  1. 01 Clone site on your brand Taken downDMCA §512 · trademark · registrar escalation
  2. 02 Fake app under your name Taken downCopyright · trademark · store and portal IP channels
  3. 03 Brand spam on hacked sites Taken downHost notices · deindexing
  4. 04 Regulator clone warning Not removedThe regulator’s own clarification, surfaced
  5. 05 WikiFX / FPA review wave ChallengedFake or defamatory reviews, under named statute
Ihor Makushinsky, senior counsel at Lawyerd
§ 06 · Counsel of record

Every engagement reviewed and signed by counsel.

Ihor Makushinsky
Senior counsel · in IP and compliance practice since 2014

Eight years as in-house IP specialist at Plarium (the studio behind RAID: Shadow Legends), then founded Lawyerd in 2021 to scale enforcement work. Mentor at Techstars; Entrepreneur in Residence at Temple University.

→ Full counsel profile
§ 07 · Engagement

Three shapes the practice takes.

Engagement scoped after audit. Pricing discussed under NDA.

Starter

Reactive standing capacity.

Routine media monitoring and reactive removal work. Monthly retainer. Suitable for brokers with steady operations and occasional media exposure.

By appointment
Active

Continuous engagement.

For brokers with ongoing media exposure across multiple jurisdictions. Direct counsel access. Bi-weekly reporting.

By appointment
Crisis

Surge capacity.

For an active media incident or regulator inquiry. Daily reporting. Time-bounded engagement.

By appointment
§ 08 · Common questions

Asked by brokers before the first filing.

How do I get a clone broker website taken down?

At the source: the host. If the clone sits behind Cloudflare, a Cloudflare abuse report forwards the notice and usually names the real host. The host gets a notice under copyright (your copied design and text) and trademark, with screenshots next to your official site. If the clone collects logins or deposits, it is phishing, and since April 2024 ICANN’s registrar agreement (section 3.18.2) obliges registrars of domains such as .com to act on actionable evidence. If the host does nothing, the registrar, the upstream provider and Google come next.

A fake app uses our broker’s name on download portals and APK sites. Can it be removed?

Usually, yes. App stores, download portals and APK sites all run IP complaint channels. An app published under your company’s name, or with your logo and screenshots, is impersonation and a copyright and trademark matter — the strongest ground there is. An unofficial “bot for [your platform]” that says plainly it is not affiliated is harder: that can be nominative use, and a weak filing makes the next one harder.

Can you remove “[broker] scam” pages and reviews?

Only on lawful grounds. Fake reviews, reviews from people who were never clients and false statements of fact can be challenged under defamation law and the platform’s own rules; WikiFX and Forex Peace Army each have their own process. Genuine complaints, accurate reporting and legitimate regulator warnings stay up. Where a page is lawful, the answer is a response, not a removal.

Will takedowns hit our own affiliates or mirror domains?

No, because the list comes first. Before the first filing, your domains, mirrors, apps and affiliate IDs go on a trusted list, and nothing is filed until you confirm each finding. Some look-alike sites are partners sending traders to your platform; others look like partners and send traders to a rival. We check where the links lead before anything is filed.

A regulator published a clone-firm warning that names our brand. Can it be removed?

No, and it should not be: the warning protects your clients from the clone. What we do is take the clone down and help you point clients, search results and review sites to the regulator’s own statement that the clone is not the licensed firm.

How can a trader tell a clone firm from the licensed broker?

Check the regulator’s own register — the FCA Register, CySEC’s list of regulated entities, ASIC Connect — and compare the website, email domain and phone number with the ones the register lists. Regulators also publish clone-firm warnings with the clone’s details. A licensed broker will not ask for payment to a personal account or a crypto wallet sent over Telegram.

What does the 48-hour audit include?

Three to five live attacks on your brand — clone sites, fake apps, brand spam pages, fake accounts or review waves — with where each one is hosted and which legal ground applies to it. It is free, starts under your NDA if you need one, and needs no call.

§ Guides

Before you engage — read these

§ 09 · Begin

Request a 48-hour confidential audit.

We will surface 3–5 live attacks against your brand, signed by counsel, without obligation.

  • 01NDA-first — attach yours and we sign before we begin
  • 02No call required to start
NDA upload · optional

Reviewed personally by Ihor Makushinsky · Response within one business day