Authority sounds the alarm on rising impersonation scams targeting investors

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The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has once again warned South Africans to be cautious when approached with unsolicited investment or trading offers, particularly those found on social media platforms.

“There are many fraudsters operating scams, and the number is growing. South Africans lose millions of rands every year to fraudsters. Illegal operations are sometimes well-disguised as legitimate operations,” the FSCA said.

So far this year, the FSCA has issued more than 40 public warnings about unauthorised financial activities. The latest alerts expose schemes involving impersonation of legitimate financial services providers and their representatives, often through platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp. These scams typically promise unrealistic returns and rely on false affiliations to gain the public’s trust.

“Any offer of unrealistic returns must be viewed with great suspicion, especially if it is coupled to an unrealistic turnaround time relating to the profits,” the FSCA said.

The latest warnings issued by the FSCA include:

  • Impersonation of Altron TMT (Pty) Ltd and Werner Gerhard Kapp
  • Portem Industries impersonating Portdem (Pty) Ltd
  • Fake Telegram group using PSG Wealth and Elke Brink’s names
  • Impersonation of Freedom Capital (Pty) Ltd by Portcullis Securities, PCS Holdings, and Mark Kretschmar
  • Fake EasyEquities representatives
  • Impersonation of Scope Markets SA and CEO Robert J van Eyden
  • Unlicensed activities by SYW and Hannes Dupper

Below are the details of each warning issued.

 

Impersonation of Altron TMT and Werner Kapp

The FSCA is warning against a Telegram group impersonating Altron TMT (Pty) Ltd (FSP 50256) and its representative, Werner Gerhard Kapp. The group, found at https://t.me/Leadership_Andre_Cronjee1, promotes forex trading and solicits money by promising high, short-term returns.

Altron TMT confirmed it does not operate on Telegram and has no association with the group or its administrators.

Attempts by the FSCA to contact those behind the group were unsuccessful.

Portem Industries using Portdem’s FSP number

In a separate case, Portem Industries (Pty) Ltd has been accused of misusing the FSP number of Portdem (Pty) Ltd (FSP 8267) to raise funds from the public. Portdem’s licence lapsed in June 2022, and it is no longer authorised to provide financial services.

The company confirmed it is not affiliated with Portem Industries, which has failed to respond to the FSCA.

PSG Wealth and Elke Brink impersonated on Telegram

Another fraudulent Telegram group is posing as PSG Wealth Financial Planning (Pty) Ltd (FSP 728) and its representative, Elke Brink. The group promises 100% guaranteed returns and uses Brink’s identity to attract investors.

PSG Wealth stated it does not conduct business on Telegram and denies any link to the individuals involved.

According to the FSCA, the group’s operators are not authorised under financial sector laws. As with other cases, the impersonators did not respond to the FSCA’s queries.

Freedom Capital’s FSP number misused

Portcullis Securities, PCS Holdings, and Mark Kretschmar are accused of using the FSP number of Freedom Capital (Pty) Ltd (FSP 27030) to solicit funds.

Freedom Capital confirmed it has no ties to the parties involved, who are not licensed to offer financial services in South Africa.

The FSCA’s attempts to obtain responses were unsuccessful.

EasyEquities impersonation surge

EasyEquities, a trading platform operated by First World Trader (Pty) Ltd, has reported a rise in impersonation scams.

Fraudsters claiming to be employees are using social media to lure victims with false promises of high returns, then requesting deposits into personal accounts. Victims are later asked to pay fake “withdrawal fees”.

These individuals are not employed by or associated with EasyEquities, and the firm has disassociated itself from the activity.

Scope Markets CEO impersonated on WhatsApp

Impersonators using WhatsApp are claiming to represent Scope Markets SA (Pty) Ltd and its chief executive, Robert J van Eyden. They use a fraudulent “irrevocable trust agreement” to recruit clients and solicit investments.

Scope Markets confirmed that neither it nor its CEO is linked to the individuals, and the agreement being circulated is fake.

SYW and Hannes Dupper operating without authorisation

The FSCA has also flagged an entity called SYW and an individual named Hannes Dupper, who are allegedly offering investment services and accepting investments against unsecured assets.

Neither is licensed as an FSP or appointed as a representative of an authorised FSP.

Spot the red flags

The FSCA advises the public to remain alert when approached with attractive investment offers. These often come with warning signs that should raise immediate concern. Common red flags include:

  • Promises of unrealistic or exaggerated returns.
  • Offers made through social media platforms.
  • Requests for upfront payments.
  • Additional payments required to access your investment returns.
  • Charges for training before you can invest.
  • Pressure to act and pay urgently.
  • Vague or unclear information about the investment product.

To check whether a person or business is authorised by the FSCA to operate as a financial services provider – and to verify their FSP number – the public can use any of the following options: