The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has alerted the public about entities that are not authorised to conduct financial services business, as well as three impersonation scams.
The FSCA said it received a complaint that Ubomi Unlimited Projects (Pty) Ltd, which trades as Ubomi Fire Protection Insurance, might be issuing insurance policies that might not be underwritten by an authorised short-term insurer.
An entity must be authorised by the FSCA and the Prudential Authority to issue insurance policies in South Africa. Ubomi Fire Protection is not so authorised. Conducting financial services business or insurance business without a licence is a criminal offence.
It has come to the Authority’s attention that a platform called xrp2024.live is soliciting funds for investment purposes. Members of the public are required to deposit funds into crypto wallet addresses, with the promise of unrealistic returns.
The FSCA said xrp2024.live is not authorised to provide financial services to the public in South Africa.
The Authority has also warned the public about Alpatoken and Gugu Sbahle Mdabe, who are soliciting funds via WhatsApp groups.
Alpatoken and Mdabe require minimum deposits of between R220 and R22 000, with a promise of more than 35% profit within seven days.
Neither Alpatoken nor Mdabe are authorised to provide financial services to the public in South Africa.
One of the impersonation scams involves individuals who are falsely claiming to be associated with Goldsure Financial Consultants (Pty) Ltd, which is an authorised financial services provider (FSP 48178).
The individuals, who operate on Facebook, are soliciting funds and promising a return of R2 381 within three months from an initial investment of R1 000.
Goldsure has no association or relationship with the individuals, who are using its name and FSP number without its permission.
The other impersonation scam involves an individual named “Mrs Jennefer McDonald’s”, who falsely claims to be an authorised agent or representative of Brokstock, a licensed provider (FSP 51404).
This individual is soliciting money on Facebook from people seeking trading opportunities.
Brokstock has no affiliation with the impersonator. Its brand name, logos, and trademark are being used without its permission.
Finally, a group called J532-NBSG Stock Discussion Group is soliciting funds on the pretence of being associated with Nedbank Limited (FSP 9363) or Nedgroup Private Wealth Stockbrokers (Pty) Ltd.
The FSCA said a Facebook advertisement called NBSG prompted members of the public to sign up for a beginner’s trading course through Nedbank. After providing their contact details, they were added to a WhatsApp group, which contained the logo of Nedbank and Nedbank Stockbrokers. Members of the group were provided with share-trading ideas and tips on block trades. They were offered a 10% discount on trading shares in blocks.
Nedbank and Nedbank Stockbrokers have no association or relationship with this group, which is using Nedbank’s name and logo without their permission.
J532-NBSG is not authorised to provide financial products or services in South Africa.
Advisory to the public
The FSCA urges extreme caution when approached with unsolicited investment opportunities, particularly those found on social media. To avoid financial fraud, individuals should always confirm whether a financial service provider is registered by checking the FSCA’s database.
Members of the public should always check the following:
- That an entity or individual is authorised by the FSCA to provide financial products and services, including for providing recommendations about how to invest.
- The category of advice the person is registered to provide, because there are instances where companies or people are registered to provide basic advice for a low-risk product but advice on far more complex and risky products.
- That the FSP number used by the entity or individual offering financial services matches the name of the FSP on the FSCA’s database.
You can check whether an entity or person is authorised to provide financial products and services by:
- Phoning 0800 110 443 (toll-free)
- Conducting an online search for an authorised financial institution by licence category: https://www.fsca.co.za/Regulated%20Entities/Pages/List-Regulated-Entities-Persons.aspx
- Conducting an online search for a financial institution that is an authorised FSP: https://www.fsca.co.za/Fais/Search_FSP.htm
