The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC ) has issued a communique, warning the public about a new type of scam that it has detected. In contrast to most cases, when fraudulent entities impersonate brokers, this time around the con artists pretend to be CySEC officers.
The regulator outlines in its announcement that similar scam tactics have become popular lately and Cypriot brokers' clients are being contacted by unknown individuals pretending to be collecting taxes.
Two particular cases were mentioned by CySEC in which individuals presenting themselves as Adam Theocharides and David Jenner-Clarke solicited Payments from an email address that does not pertain to the Cypriot regulator - international.affairs@cysec.info.
Careful observers will notice the difference in the official domains of CySEC (cysec.gov.cy) and the .info domain which the scammers use. The regulator has also stated that different scam messages may be originating from this or other addresses.
The cysec.info domain has been registered to an anonymous party for three years starting from June 16th this year.
There is no legal framework under which CySEC can be a mediator between any government agency and clients of Cyprus-based brokerages or asset management companies. The regulator urges the public to be vigilant and to contact the authority in the case of unsolicited communication on the part of scammers representing themselves as CySEC employees by emailing to info@cysec.gov.cy.
