As financial scams are becoming rampant, the Cyprus Securities and Investment Commission (CySEC ) again issued a warning against the rising impersonation of regulatory officers and representatives.
Scammers Impersonating CySEC
The latest warning on Thursday is one of the many cautions on impersonations the Cypriot regulator issued. In November last year, the regulator said that individuals and fake websites were impersonating its officers, representatives, and legal website.
However, now the focus is mainly on imposters trying to solicit fees in exchange for the settlement of bogus compensation claims related to firms under CySEC supervision. The warning detailed that fraudsters claim to be CySEC officers and appointed representatives when contacting potential victims.
The scammers even contact the clients of CySEC-regulated entities, with emails and telephones, with compelling phone numbers, names, and even official stamps. These fraudsters often offer to assist the victims of sanctioned online trading firms with their compensation claims and illegally obtain additional personal information.
“CySEC would like to remind the public that it never contacts by telephone or sends unsolicited correspondence to investors or members of the public, nor does it ever request any personal data, financial or otherwise,” the regulator stated.
“CySEC urges the public to remain vigilant of any unsolicited communication purporting to be from CySEC and to refrain from giving money to anyone who approaches them in a similar way to the examples given above.”
A Vigilant Regulator
Meanwhile, CySEC is vigilant against illegal trading platforms trying to trap victims. These platforms often claim to be regulated on the island or sometimes even impersonate regulated entities.
Furthermore, Cyprus is home to dozens of online trading platforms targeting the Europen markets. These regulated firms can passport their Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF) license to legally offer services around the European Economic Area (EEA). On top of that, CySEC is vigilant towards many such non-compliant firms and regularly takes enforcement action or withdraws licenses in extreme cases.
