Cypres SEC impersonated in a fraudulent scam

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) warns the financial services industry and public of a scam where individuals claiming to be officers or appointed representatives of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) are soliciting investors for fees in exchange for settlement of fake compensation claims. These claims are related to the conduct of several firms under CySEC’s supervision.

A sophisticated online campaign targeting investors of online trading firms that offer speculative investment products is used as part of the scam which typically involves:

• Individuals claiming to be CySEC officers, appointed representatives of CySEC (e.g. legal advisors), other Cypriot supervisory authorities (e.g. the Central Bank of Cyprus) and/or bank representatives appointed by CySEC contacting investors that are clients of regulated entities under CySEC’s supervision. Contact is often via emails which appear to be genuine – they carry the name, address, official stamp and logo of CySEC and fraudulently copy CySEC officials’ signature;
• false promises made 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);
• soliciting personal information from investors including telephone records; and
• in some cases, calling investors via telephone in relation to email correspondence concerning the fraudulent scam.

CySEC, has confirmed that it will never send unsolicited correspondence to investors or members of the public, nor will it ever request any personal data, financial or otherwise. CySEC further has no authority or jurisdiction to collect fees for any purpose from individual investors, nor does it have authority to appoint anyone to do so on its behalf.

It does not authorise, verify, monitor, or is in any way involved in class actions, compensation schemes, payments between natural or legal entities or any public or private agencies.

CySEC has issued multiple public warnings on its website https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/public-info/warnings/cysec/

The FSCA urges the public to remain vigilant regarding any unsolicited communication from CySEC or persons claiming to act on CySEC’s behalf, and to refrain from giving money to anyone who claims any or all of the above. Investors are strongly advised to contact CySEC to confirm the authenticity of any unsolicited communication by emailing info@cysec.gov.cy