The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has sounded the alarm over a growing wave of unauthorised financial activity, issuing multiple public warnings in recent weeks to protect South Africans from falling victim to scams.
The latest alerts span a range of schemes – from bogus investment promises and impersonation of licensed providers, to social media scams abusing the identities of well-known financial figures.
The FSCA has warned against:
- Primewave Capital, which is soliciting investments via Facebook while promising unrealistic returns.
- TradeFD, a trading platform accused of impersonating licensed provider Tradelab (Pty) Ltd and falsely claiming to be FSCA-authorised.
- Kabelo Pilusa, who is soliciting funds and offering trading signals on Instagram without a licence.
- Scammers impersonating Sygnia chief executive Magda Wierzycka on platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram.
Below are the details of each warning issued.
Primewave Capital: red flags over unrealistic returns
The FSCA cautions the public against doing business with Primewave Capital, which is allegedly recruiting members via Facebook and soliciting funds for investment purposes while promising returns that raise serious red flags.
“It has come to the attention of the FSCA that Primewave Capital is soliciting funds from members of the public for investment purposes, while promising unrealistic returns. Members are recruited through Facebook,” the Authority said.
Although the FSCA has not commented on the specific nature of Primewave’s business model, it warned: “Unrealistic returns must be viewed with great suspicion.”
Primewave Capital is not authorised in terms of any financial sector law to provide financial services in South Africa.
TradeFD: falsely claims FSCA authorisation
TradeFD has come under fire for impersonating authorised financial services provider Tradelab (Pty) Ltd, using Tradelab’s FSP number 52058 on its website to deceive users into thinking it is a licensed operator.
“Without commenting on the business of TradeFD, the FSCA confirms that TradeFD is not authorised to provide financial services in South Africa and that FSP number 52058 does not belong to TradeFD. Tradelab confirmed that it is not associated with TradeFD,” the FSCA stated.
The public is urged to remain vigilant.
“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 Authority warned.
Kabelo Pilusa: offering unauthorised investment services on Instagram
The FSCA has issued a warning against Kabelo Edgar Pilusa for offering unlicensed financial services to the public through Instagram. He is allegedly soliciting funds for investment and providing trading signals without being authorised to do so.
“Mr Pilusa also provides signals and trading services to members of the public. While the FSCA does not comment on the specifics of Mr Pilusa’s business, it must be noted that Mr Pilusa is not authorised in terms of any financial sector law to provide financial services to the public in South Africa,” the FSCA said.
Pilusa has failed to respond to the FSCA’s attempts to contact him.
The Authority added: “Authorised financial services providers must clearly display their authorisation status in their documentation. If this is not present, it is advised to further investigate before making any payments.”
Impersonators target Sygnia CEO Magda Wierzycka
The FSCA is warning the public about scammers impersonating Magda Wierzycka, the chief executive of Sygnia Limited, on messaging platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram. These fraudsters are soliciting investments while falsely claiming to be associated with Wierzycka or Sygnia.
“The FSCA has received information that there are individuals who are using the persona of Sygnia’s CEO on social media platforms (Telegram, Facebook, and WhatsApp) to solicit investments from members of the public. These individuals are not authorised to render any financial services and are misrepresenting themselves to be affiliated with Sygnia and Ms Magda Wierzycka,” the FSCA warned.
Sygnia has confirmed it is not affiliated with the impersonators.
The FSCA further noted: “Notwithstanding the FSCA’s attempts to contact the impersonators using the contact details in its possession, the impersonators were not reachable.”
Don’t be fooled
The FSCA urges consumers to verify the authorisation status of any individual or company before handing over their money. The Regulator’s searchable database of licensed financial services providers is available on its website. Scams often appear polished and convincing – but the consequences of engaging with unauthorised operators can be financially devastating.
Members of the public should always check the following:
- That an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including for providing recommendations about how to invest.
- The category of advice the person is registered to provide, because there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product but advice on far more complex and risky products.
- That the FSP number used by the entity or individual offering financial services matches the name of the FSP on the FSCA’s database.
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
