The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission’s (CySEC) launched a supervision programme which identified evidence of fraudulent representation of CySEC officers engaging with investment services providers and their (prospective) clients.
The Commission has discovered that there are individuals claiming to be CySEC officers or appointed representatives and are soliciting investors for fees in exchange for settlement of bogus compensation claims related to conduct of business with firms under CySEC’s supervision.
CySEC reminds that it never sends unsolicited correspondence to investors and it does not request any personal financial data. The Commission does not have the authority to collect fees.
The Cyprus regulator said that such cases occur often and may be part of a sophisticated online scheme to defraud investors. Typically, such scams may have the following characteristics:
- Individuals claim to be CySEC officers, appointed representatives of CySEC, other Cypriot supervisory authorities or bank representatives appointed by CySEC.
- These scammers contact investors that are clients of regulated entities under CySEC’s supervision, often via email.
- These emails appear genuine but they are not – they carry the name, address, official stamp and logo of CySEC and fraudulently copy CySEC officials’ signature.
- The fraudsters then make false promises to assist investors with compensation for potential damages in connection with dealings they have had with sanctioned firms (typically online trading firms offering speculative investment products).
- Through this engagement, the fraudsters illegally obtain personal information including telephone records.
- In some cases, investors are then called on the phone.
In a recent case, ан individual using the name Richard Moore attempted to convince recipients to pay legal fees to participate in fake aid programs for recovery of losses they might have suffered. In the correspondence he sent via email address [email protected], he also used the CySEC logo.
CySEC reminds the public to stay vigilant and if unsure about the authenticity of any communications, to contact the Commission.
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