As the year winds down and energy dips, fraudsters seem to be turning up the heat, offering investors deals that are too good to be true.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has issued more warnings involving entities and individuals allegedly impersonating licensed providers, operating without authorisation, or even posing as the FSCA itself. The regulator urged the public to exercise vigilance and protect themselves – and their loved ones – from these dubious operators.
Quantum Wealth impersonation on Telegram
The FSCA has alerted the public to individuals claiming association with Quantum Wealth Management (Pty) Ltd (FSP 862) and its director, Alicia de Klerk.
The Authority said administrators of a Telegram group called “Quantum Wealth” are allegedly using the company’s name and De Klerk’s identity to promote investments promising unrealistic returns within 48 hours of the initial investment.
The Telegram group administrators failed to respond to any of the FSCA’s enquiries.
Quantum Wealth Management confirmed that neither it nor De Klerk are affiliated with the Telegram group or its activities.
Telegram impersonation of Sterling Private Wealth
The FSCA has reported that individuals on Telegram are allegedly impersonating Sterling Private Wealth (Pty) Ltd and its director, Graydon Morris. Sterling is an authorised financial services provider (FSP number 32319).
According to the FSCA, administrators of Telegram groups named Leadership Graydon Morris and Sterling Private Wealth are reportedly promoting Bitcoin investments, promising extremely high returns – for example, claiming that an investment of R10 000 could yield R100 000 in a short period.
The regulator said the Telegram group administrators are not authorised to offer financial services under South African law and did not respond to its enquiries. Sterling Private Wealth confirmed that neither the company nor Morris is connected to the groups or their activities.
Impersonation of Verbo Capital
The FSCA warned the public to exercise caution when dealing with persons using the websites www.verbocapitalmarket.com and www.verbo-fx.com, which purport to be associated with licensed financial services provider Verbo Capital (Pty) Ltd (FSP 54076).
According to the FSCA, individuals operating the websites are using Verbo Capital’s name and credentials to solicit investments, promising high returns. Verbo Capital has confirmed to the FSCA that it is not associated with these impersonators and does not use the websites for business purposes.
The individuals concerned failed to respond to the FSCA’s queries.
Barclays Academy not licensed to offer investments
The FSCA cautioned the public against Barclays Academy, which it says is soliciting funds for investment purposes and promising unrealistic returns. Recruitment reportedly occurs through Facebook.
The Authority stated that Barclays Academy is not authorised in terms of any financial sector law to provide financial services to the public in South Africa and warned that “unrealistic returns must be viewed with great suspicion”.
Barclays Academy did not respond to the FSCA’s queries.
FSCA flags unlicensed signal providers
In another warning, the FSCA advised caution when dealing with Lethabo Mashiane and Vhuhwavho Lehaiva, who are allegedly soliciting funds for investment purposes and offering trading signals and services.
The FSCA explained that providing or publishing trading signals related to online trading in financial products constitutes a financial service under the FAIS Act, requiring a licence. Conducting such business without authorisation is a contravention of financial sector law and a criminal offence.
The Authority emphasised that neither Mashiane nor Lehaiva is authorised to provide financial services and urged the public not to deal with unlicensed signal providers. Both individuals failed to respond to the FSCA’s enquiries.
Impersonation of the FSCA by ‘Michael Lewis’
The FSCA warned that an individual identifying himself as Michael Lewis has been impersonating an FSCA investigator.
According to the FSCA, a member of the public reported receiving an email from Lewis, who claimed to be a “chief executive investigator” for the regulator. The complainant was told the FSCA had recovered assets from an unauthorised trading platform and was instructed to open a cryptocurrency wallet to receive funds.
The FSCA confirmed that Lewis is not employed by the Authority, and it does not handle recovered assets on behalf of complainants.
Lewis failed to respond to the FSCA’s queries, and the matter is under investigation.
Second impersonation case involving FSCA name
The FSCA issued a further warning about Bennett Nkomo, who allegedly pretended to be an FSCA employee and used the regulator’s branding to defraud a member of the public.
According to the FSCA, Nkomo claimed that over R3.9 million would be paid into the victim’s account once she paid “levies to the FSCA”. The individual made various payments but never received the funds.
Nkomo used the FSCA logo, physical address, and a false FSP number (53789) belonging to Schindlers Digital Assets (Pty) Ltd, which confirmed it had no connection with him.
The FSCA confirmed that Nkomo is not its employee, that the bank details he provided do not belong to it, and that it does not hold funds for members of the public.
The FSCA is investigating the matter and again urged vigilance.
FSCA cautions against ‘El Chapo’
The FSCA advised the public to be cautious when approached by an entity calling itself El Chapo, which is allegedly soliciting R1 000 investments while promising trading-related returns.
According to the FSCA, the entity later requests additional payments before releasing purported returns. The FSCA confirmed that El Chapo is not authorised to provide financial services and did not respond to enquiries.
Impersonation of Six Swiss Exchange and Wings Financial Services
Lastly, the FSCA warned of individuals falsely claiming association with Switzerland-based Six Swiss Exchange and South African FSP Wings Financial Services CC (FSP 14315).
The Authority said administrators of a Telegram group were using a fraudulent FSCA licence certificate to solicit investments. Both Wings Financial Services and Six Swiss Exchange confirmed that they are not associated with the individuals behind the group.
Stay alert: protect your money from investment scams
To avoid unnecessary risk, the public should never accept financial advice, assistance, or investment offers from individuals or entities not authorised by the FSCA. Legitimate financial services providers must clearly display their authorisation status in their documentation – if it’s missing, take extra caution before making any payments.
Fraudsters are on the rise, and South Africans lose millions of rands every year to scams. Some illegal operations are cleverly disguised as legitimate businesses.
The FSCA warns the public to watch out for red flags when approached with investment opportunities, including:
- Unrealistic or exaggerated returns
- Offers via social media
- Upfront payments for services
- Requests for additional payments to release your funds
- Charges for training or learning packages
- Pressure to act urgently
- Vague or unclear information about the investment product
To verify if a person or business is authorised as a financial services provider (FSP), contact the FSCA toll-free at 0800 110 443 or check online: FSCA FSP Search.
Suspicious activity can be reported to the FSCA via the Ethics and Fraud Hotline at 0800 313 626, by email at fsca@behonest.co.za, or online at www.behonest.co.za.
