The Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Securities Division has received a complaint that Fire Phoenix, using the websites firephoenixfx.com and firephoenix.cc, may be engaging in fraud. According to the firephoenixfx.com website, customers can trade in investment products including foreign currencies, cryptocurrency, precious metals, crude oil, and stocks via the Fire Phoenix trading platform. It claims the platform is “one of the world’s most popular and widely used online trading platforms”. Its websites are still online as of the posting of this alert.
The investor reported learning of the Fire Phoenix trading platform from an individual going by the name Zheng Qing Qing (Qing Qing), via LinkedIn and WhatsApp. Qing Qing convinced the investor that she was a real person by communicating with the investor on a couple occasions by Webcam. Qing Qing claimed to have an uncle who had a gold trading strategy. Subsequently, Qing Qing convinced the investor to transfer $200,000 in USDT (Tether) to Fire Phoenix over the span of about two months through Kraken cryptocurrency exchange. The investor believed the funds would be used for gold trading on the supposed firephoenixfx platform. The investor is presumed to have lost his investment. The investor has since reported that this was a romance scam. These allegations have not been verified by DFI.
DFI has received similar complaints from investors reporting to have been defrauded by an individual using the name Qingqing Zheng, later going by the name Anne Smith. Read more about this in the Consumer Alert regarding Sundell Limited. Scammers involved in romance scams will often create a fictitious profile and use it in different scams. It is likely Zheng Qing Qing, Qingqing Zheng, and Anne Smith are fictitious.
This appears to be what is commonly called “Advance Fee Fraud”, which can take many forms. Learn more about advance fee fraud. It also appears to be a “Pig Butchering” or Romance Scam.
The firephoenixfx.com website contained several red flags indicating fraud (which have also not been verified by DFI), including:
Disclosure of minimal contact information limited only to an email address, but no full legal business name, contact number or physical business address.
A claim that Fire Phoenix is based in England, and licensed and regulated by the FCA (the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK), while a search of the FCA Financial Services Register disclosed that Fire Phoenix, listed as Fire Phoenix Assets Limited/firephoenixfx.com, is an Unauthorised firm, that may be providing financial services or products without the FCA’s permission.
A claim that the “certified history” of Fire Phoenix dates back to 2000, while the firephoenixfx.com and firephoenix.cc websites were only recently registered in April 2023.
DFI urges consumers to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation offering investment or financial services. Investment professionals need to be licensed with DFI to offer investments to Washington residents. In addition, most investment products sold need to be registered with DFI.
To check the licensing status and to find out if there are any complaints against an investment professional or investment product, please visit FINRA Brokercheck or contact the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, Securities Division at (360) 902-8760. If you live outside of Washington State, contact your state securities regulator.
If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding an investment product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the Securities Division.
Additional Resources:
Virtual Currency, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Assets Information for Consumers