The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) issued the following warnings about dubious operators in the financial industry last week, discouraging the public from engaging in any financial services-related business with them.
Protrades
Protrades and individuals impersonating the FSCA have been sharing emails and documents with individuals, under the guise that these emanate from the Authority and verify the legitimacy of Protrades.
In the emails, Protrades promises to multiply the recipients’ initial investment within a few hours.
The FSCA pointed out that it was not realistic to claim that an investment could be “multiplied within a few hours”.
“Protrades and Phyllis Raphulu are not authorised as financial services providers to provide financial advisory and intermediary services. In addition, neither of these parties are in any manner linked to the FSCA or employed by the FSCA,” the Authority said.
MyWealthinvestment.com
The FSCA states that MyWealthinvestment.com is fraudulently presenting itself as an authorised financial services provider (FSP).
The Authority said MyWealthinvestment.com has cloned the website (www.mywealthinvestments.co.za) of an authorised FSP, Regenesys Investment Fund (Pty) Ltd trading as MyWealth Investments (FSP number 45214), claiming to be associated with it.
MyWealth Investments has denied any association with MyWealthinvestment.com.
Without commenting on the business of MyWealthinvestment.com or its products and services, the FSCA pointed out that for a company to offer financial products or services in South Africa, it must be authorised by the FSCA – which MyWealthinvestment.com is not.
The FSCA said MyWealthinvestment.com could not be contacted.
Telegram group scam
The FSCA has learned of a Telegram group falsely using the name of Fairtree Asset Management (Pty) Ltd.
The Telegram group is unlawfully using the name of Fairtree, a legitimate FSP (FSP number 25917) to defraud prospective clients into investing in cryptocurrency, and promising unrealistic high returns, the Authority stated.
It added that in its view, the group was conducting unregistered business and providing advisory and intermediary services without the necessary authorisation.
Fairtree has confirmed that it is not related to or affiliated with the group in any way.
Facebook scam
A WhatsApp and Facebook scam is being run by individuals purporting to be from Julius Baer South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
The FSCA said it received information from Julius Baer, a registered FSP (FSP number 49273), that potential loans were being offered to the public via WhatsApp and Facebook using their name.
Julius Baer has confirmed that it does not offer any loans in South Africa using third parties and is in no way part of the scam.
A statement released on Julius Baer’s website encourages members of the public who might be a victim of this scam to inform their bank immediately and ask it to start the asset recovery process.
The public has also been advised to contact authorities such as the police.
WhatsApp scams
The FSCA has learned of three separate WhatsApp scams currently doing the rounds.
One involves a criminal syndicate, claiming to be associated with Anchor Capital (Pty) Ltd.
The syndicate uses the authorised FSP’s logo and images to impersonate its employees and offer fraudulent investment opportunities, soliciting money from potential investors via WhatsApp. The syndicate requests members of the public to make investments with promises of high returns.
Anchor has confirmed that it is in no way linked to the operators.
The FSCA urged anyone transferring money to bank accounts to be extremely cautious and always obtain proof that the bank account is registered in the name of the entity to which it belongs.
Another such scam is a WhatsApp group that is impersonating Emperor Asset Management (Pty) Ltd.
Emperor, an authorised FSP, has entered a co-naming agreement with IP Management Company (RF) (Pty) Ltd, an authorised manager of a collective investment scheme, to establish the Emperor IP Global Equity Fund.
The individuals or entity in question are believed to be using the WhatsApp platform to solicit investments from the public, promising grossly inflated returns across various investment plans.
Emperor confirmed that it has no affiliation with the individuals or the WhatsApp group.
In a third incidence, a WhatsApp group – using the name Aluma Private Equity Fund 2 – falsely uses Aluma Capital (Pty) Ltd’s logo.
The Authority stated that the WhatsApp group advertised a Ponzi scheme to lure potential clients.
“The FSCA received confirmation from Aluma Capital, a licensed FSP (FSP number 46449), that the registration number, cellphone numbers, and banking details used by the impersonators are not theirs,” the Authority said.
Aluma Capital confirmed that it did not give Aluma Private Equity Fund 2 the right to use its logo to solicit investments from members of the public.
Check before you invest
You should always check that an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including making recommendations about how to invest.
It is also important to know what category of advice the person is registered to provide, as there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product and offer advice on far more complex and risky products.
You can check whether an entity or person is authorised to provide financial products and services by:
Phoning 0800 110 443 (toll-free)
Conducting an online search for an authorised financial institution by licence category: https://www.fsca.co.za/Regulated%20Entities/Pages/List-Regulated-Entities-Persons.aspx
Conducting an online search for a financial institution that is an authorised FSP: https://www.fsca.co.za/Fais/Search_FSP.htm
put them in jail
Scammers on telegram
I was scam by manager Jordaan and manager Andre Malan on telegram