The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has recently issued a series of alerts regarding unauthorized financial services activities carried out by various entities and individuals. Some of these entities are engaging in impersonation tactics, unlawfully utilizing legitimate businesses’ FSP numbers and branding.
The term “financial services business” encompasses activities such as advising the public on investment opportunities and dealing with investments in any capacity. This includes receiving funds from the public, making investments on their behalf, trading financial products, or facilitating public trading in financial products.
The FSCA emphasizes the importance of recognizing warning signs indicating potential scams in investment opportunities. These signs include unrealistic returns, claims of operating without FSCA authorization, vague information about investment products or companies, urgency in decision-making, and demands for additional payments to facilitate investments’ return.
In a separate notice, the FSCA highlights impersonation scams and provides examples of recent cases:
Odyssey Investment Group: The FSCA advises against engaging in any financial services-related transactions with Odyssey Investment Group. The entity is suspected of using social media platforms to solicit investments falsely associating with Elon Musk’s name without his consent.
Swiftkryprtotrade: The public is warned against conducting financial services business with Swiftkryprtotrade, which is believed to be providing advisory and intermediary services without authorization. Individuals associated with Swiftkryprtotrade are reportedly using Telegram to impersonate representatives of the JSE Limited.
Glowfx, Bennefx, Xprestrade: Caution is advised when dealing with Glowfx, Bennefx, and Xprestrade, none of which are authorized to provide financial services or products in South Africa. Xprestrade has allegedly provided clients with false documents claiming FSCA endorsement.
In a further statement, the FSCA lists additional persons and entities potentially offering unauthorized financial services to the public. It stresses that offering financial products or services in South Africa requires FSCA authorization, none of which are possessed by the entities mentioned.