The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC ) has warned retail investors in the country against 58 unregistered soliciting entities, 11 impersonators of genuine firms and one bogus regulator.
The industry watchdog added the entities to its Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities (PAUSE) list which was updated on Monday.
The SEC also separately released a full list of organizations just added to the list.
The PAUSE list, in addition to alerting investors to firms falsely claiming to be registered, flags entities impersonating registered securities firms and bogus 'regulator' who falsely claim to be government agencies or affiliates .
The Flagged Entities
In the unregistered soliciting entities category, some of the flagged entities are: 247Crypto Trade, 24Brickstonefx.com, 24TradeConnect, AipCapitaltrade, and ApexFuturesFX.
On the other hand, Altaris Capital Securities, LLC, Apex Global Finance, Avery Wealth, Digital Capital Markets LLC, and Drala-Capital, among others, are said to be impersonating organizations with similar names.
SEC also warned against “fake regulator” Financial Securities Authority located in Arlington, Virginia, United States.
The US financial industry watchdog noted that it publishes and regularly updates the list to enable investors to better inform themselves and avoid being victims of fraud.
The regulator explained: “The latest additions are firms that SEC staff found were providing inaccurate information about their affiliation, location, or registration.
“Under U.S. securities laws, firms that solicit investors generally are required to register with the SEC and meet minimum financial standards and disclosure, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements.”
Jose Rodriguez, the Acting Chief of SEC’s Office of Market Intelligence, added that the publication of the PAUSE List is a continuation of the agency’s efforts to protect retail investors.
"We are issuing an increasing number of alerts to provide valuable information and aid investors in making informed investment decisions,” Rodriguez said.
The PAUSE List
SEC, however, pointed out that the inclusion of these entities into the PAUSE list “does not mean that the SEC has found violations of U.S. federal securities laws or made a judgment about the merits of any securities being offered.”
The list is periodically updated by the SEC’s Office of Market Intelligence, in coordination with the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Office of International Affairs.
To ensure their safety, SEC advised retail investors to beware of communications falsely appearing to come from the SEC and watch out for scammers posing as SEC employees.
The regulator also urged investors to be alert for impersonation and use its verified accounts when engaging the Commission on social media.
