The Central Bank has warned of three unauthorised investment firms operating in Ireland.

Hermann Brothers Group (USA), Westhill Partners Inc (USA) and Scott and Fischer Consultancy Limited (USA) have been offering investment services to members of the public, but are not authorised as investment firms in Ireland.

Investments firms cannot operate in Ireland without an authorisation from the Central Bank, and it is a criminal offence for companies to do so. Customers of such firms would be ineligible for compensation from the Investor Compensation Scheme.

The Central Bank publishes a list of the investment firms it has issued a warning about on its website.