The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Friday issued a warning against the fraudsters who are presenting themselves as CySEC Officers or representatives. These scammers are targeting investors, trying to solicit them for fees in exchange for the settlement of bogus compensation claims.
“CySEC would like to remind the public that it never sends unsolicited correspondence to investors or members of the public, nor does it ever request any personal data, financial or otherwise,” the Cypriot regulator stated.
CySEC oversees the regulated financial service providers that are operating from the Mediterranean island. Though it can take enforcement actions against regulated entities and impose monetary fines on them, it does not have any jurisdiction to collect fees for any purpose from individual investors.
A Usual Modus Operandi of Scammers
It is not the first such warning issued by CySEC. The financial market regulator put out a similar warning notice against regulatory impersonators last year.
Additionally, the financial market supervisor clarified that it “does not authorize, 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.”
But the regulator stressed that its impersonation is becoming rampant as fraudsters are running sophisticated online campaigns to defraud investors.
They claim to be CySEC officers or representatives and send genuine-looking emails with logos and the regulator’s addresses. They make false promises to help the investors with compensation for potential damages in connection with their dealings with sanctioned firms.
These scammers often obtain personal records of the victims and try to persuade them even on phone as a follow-up to the email communication.
CySEC is not the only regulator to issue a warning against impersonators. Financial supervisors around the world are flagging and warning against impersonators of the regulators and also companies. The victims of failed financial firms often become the primary target of these fraudsters.
“CySEC urges the public to remain vigilant regarding any unsolicited communication from CySEC, to refrain from giving money to anyone who claims any or all of the above, or similar,” the Cypriot regulator added.
