BaFin warns against marathonasset.com: identity theft and illegal financial services
BaFin has issued a warning against marathonasset.com, which offers financial services without authorisation and misuses data from genuine companies.
BaFin warns against marathonasset.com – identity theft and illegal financial services
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has issued a formal warning against marathonasset.com. As reported by anwalt24.de, the platform offers financial and securities services without the authorisation required under German law. The warning is based on section 37, subsection 4 of the Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz).
The unknown operators are trading under the name "Marathon Assets LLC" and claim to be based in Chicago and New York. Previously, BaFin had already flagged the domain marathonasset.pro; the current warning is directed against marathonasset.com. A further domain, marathonassets.ai, is currently inactive according to published information.
Identity fraud as a key warning signal
Particularly serious is BaFin's indication of suspected identity theft. The website marathonasset.com uses registration data from genuine financial companies. According to BaFin's own statements, it has no information demonstrating a connection between these companies and the website in question.
This arrangement is particularly dangerous for investors. Anyone who independently verifies the registration data provided on the website may actually find a real, properly registered and regulated company. Their own research appears to confirm the provider at first – but this conclusion can be misleading. What matters is not only whether a company with that name exists, but whether that company actually operates the specific website.
According to BaFin, the imprint on marathonasset.com contains an SEC registration number which apparently belongs to Marathon Asset Management, L.P. – a company that is actually registered with the US securities regulator, the SEC. To an investor, this can appear convincing: the number exists, the company exists, the name is similar. However, BaFin makes clear that there is no verified connection between this company and the operators of marathonasset.com.
Forged government verification via entity-verification.com
Another element of the warning concerns an alleged verification function on the website. By clicking a button labelled "Display Verification", users are directed to the domain entity-verification.com. This page gives the impression of being an official US government or SEC website.
BaFin explicitly states on this point: this claim is false. Entity-verification.com is not an official web presence of the US government or the SEC. The authority also points out that the domain was registered anonymously.
According to the authority, the mechanism is deliberately designed. An investor who expresses doubts may be referred to the verification button and directed to a page that suggests official confirmation. Such a supposedly independent check can appear more convincing than any mere statement by the provider.
What investors must pay attention to when conducting checks
The BaFin warning makes clear that a US business address or an English-language company name is not evidence that a genuine regulated US financial company is behind a website. According to specialist lawyers, a thorough examination must separately assess multiple levels: whether the domain actually belongs to the stated company, whether telephone numbers and email addresses match, whether named contacts are employed there, whether bank accounts or wallets can be assigned to the company – and whether the stated regulatory registration can be attributed to the actual website operator.
According to the BaFin warning, particularly on this last point there are considerable discrepancies.
Identity fraud is one of the hard-to-detect forms of fraudulent online investment offers, because those responsible do not need to construct a completely invented corporate history. It is sufficient to use data from genuine financial companies and deploy it on a specially created platform.
Investors who have already transferred funds to marathonasset.com or harbour a corresponding suspicion should seek legal advice. The law firm Wilms – specialising in cryptocurrency fraud and online investment fraud – can be reached at +49 69 380 781 603 or [email protected].
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)