Time for advisors to take anti-spoofing measures?

Last week, Texas regulators issued a cease-and-desist order against Oscar Hill, a Texan whom they say registered a website for Prestige Assets Mgnt LLC, an unlicensed dealer with a suspiciously similar name to Prestige Asset Management LLC, an Austin-based RIA.

“The phony website had an authentic look, including a map to the real firm’s office and referenced the registered firm’s CRD number,” Barron’s said, citing regulators.

In another investor warning, U.S. self-regulatory organization Finra said it had detected two patterns of fraud that investors and advisors ought to be aware of. In one strategy, fraudsters set up a website that copycats an actual professional’s site, then they solicit investments from consumers and direct them to the imposter site. Investors were told to watch out for red flags such as “poor grammar, misspellings, odd or awkward phrasings, or misuse of investor…